Humanity lands on the Moon

20 July 1969

On 16 July 1969, NASA’S Apollo 11 containing astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin launched. The Moon landing four days later led to an explosion of interest in space research, with further Apollo missions launching over successive years. Among the many impacts of the Moon landing was the ability to bring samples back. In particular, this furthered our geological understanding of the Moon, proving both it and the Earth came from the same body.