Apollo 11’s journey to the moon, annotated

You’re looking at one of the most incredible moments in human history.

That’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, walking on the moon.

Okay, maybe you’ve seen this clip before, but think about that for a second: They’re

on the moon.

A celestial object nearly 240,000 miles into outer space.

That distance is like flying all the way around the Earth 9 1/2 times.

Millions of people around the world watched on July 16, 1969, as Apollo 11, carrying astronauts

Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida,

and disappeared into the sky.

It was the climax of years of preparation and research, and the pinnacle moment of the

so-called “Space Race” between the United States and Soviet Union, a years-long rivalry

to compete for dominance in space exploration.

For the eight days following the launch, the world awaited the return of the would-be heroes.

So what actually happened between here

and here?

So let’s start with the components of the ship that were discarded one by one until