View of Astronaut footprint in lunar soil. Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. were launched to the Moon by a Saturn V launch vehicle 9:32 a.m. EDT, July 16, 1969, from Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the Moon July 20, 1969, and, after take-off from the Moon July 21, joined Collins in the Command Module circling the Moon. The astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean and recovery was made by the U.S.S. Hornet at 12:50 p.m. EDT, July 24, 1969. 1969-07-21 AS11-40-5877 NASA Kennedy Space Center NASA-KSC http://images.ksc.nasa.gov/ http://images.ksc.nasa.gov/photos/1969/thumb/AS11-40-5877.gif GIF 79 100 11947 http://images.ksc.nasa.gov/photos/1969/low/AS11-40-5877.gif GIF 190 240 65287 http://images.ksc.nasa.gov/photos/1969/medium/AS11-40-5877.jpg JPEG 608 768 143708 http://images.ksc.nasa.gov/photos/1969/high/AS11-40-5877.jpg JPEG 2043 2582 831013