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Apollo 50-year anniversary: the moon landing’s legacy and the future of lunar exploration

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down on the moon on July, 20, 1969. It changed the world.

Contributors: Vox Staff

Apollo 11 blasted off in July 1969, sending astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins on a journey to the moon and back. It took around three days to get to the moon, and then Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21 hours and 26 minutes on the lunar surface, becoming the first humans to set foot on it. It’s estimated that 650 million people watched the historic landing on July 20, 1969, and heard Armstrong say “... one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

The legacy of that mission — and all the Apollo missions — is immense. Its impact spanned science, culture, and politics. The 50th anniversary is a good time to take stock of what we’ve learned from exploring the moon and to wonder about what we’ll find when we go back. It may happen sooner than you’d think: NASA is currently aiming for a 2024 crewed mission to the moon. That’s just five years away.

11 Total Updates Since
Oct 23, 2018, 11:10am EDT
  • November 19, 2019

    How Apollo moon rocks reveal the epic history of the cosmos

    By Brian Resnick
    Additional reporting by Byrd Pinkerton; graphics by Javier Zarracina/Vox

    Lunar samples are a time capsule. Scientists say we should go back for more.

  • July 19, 2019

    Exploring TV’s weird role in the moon landing — and moon landing conspiracy theories

    By Emily St. James

    3 surprising true stories about television’s role in one of the most famous moments in history.

  • July 19, 2019

    What would alien life mean for Catholicism? The Vatican’s chief astronomer explains.

    By Byrd Pinkerton

    He also digs into Galileo, icy moons, and the relationship between science and religion.

  • July 19, 2019

    Humans landed on the moon 50 years ago, and it’s still freaking awesome

    By Brian Resnick

    The Apollo 11 moon landing changed our understanding of the solar system.

  • July 18, 2019

    Scientists are grappling with our biggest limitation in spaceflight: our own bodies

    By Brian Resnick
    Illustrations by Javier Zarracina

    We’ve sent people to space for decades — but we’re only beginning to learn what that means for human health.

  • July 17, 2019

    The hasty plan to get Americans back on the moon by 2024, explained

    By Brian Resnick

    If NASA’s going to pull this one off, it needs to get through an enormous to-do list.

  • July 16, 2019

    Apollo 11 memorabilia sells for a high price — but who should really own NASA history?

    By Luke Winkie

    There’s been tension between NASA, collectors, and former astronauts over items that have been to the moon.

  • July 12, 2019

    Apollo astronauts left their poop on the moon. We gotta go back for that shit.

    By Brian Resnick
    Graphics by Javier Zarracina/Vox

    What 50-year-old dirty diapers can teach us about the potential origins of life on Earth.

  • July 5, 2019

    1998’s From the Earth to the Moon is the best fictional retelling of the Apollo program

    By Emily St. James

    The HBO miniseries doesn’t just tell you the story of the astronauts. It tells you the story of everything else, too.

  • June 24, 2019

    Who’s making money off moon landing conspiracy theories?

    By Rebecca Jennings

    An almost-serious investigation into the money behind the moon hoax theory.

  • October 23, 2018

    Apollo 11’s journey to the moon, annotated

    By Coleman Lowndes

    The moon landing was accomplished through the careful deconstruction of the Saturn V rocket and the Apollo spacecraft.