Today marks the day in 1969 of the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon, the first time humans set foot on another celestial body. Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Mission Commander, and Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, Lunar Module Pilot, landed their Lunar Module, "Eagle", on the Moon's Sea of Tranquility while Mike Collins, Command Module Pilot, orbited overhead in the command ship "Columbia". Three hours after touchdown, Armstrong opened "Eagle"'s hatch, and climbed down the ladder, his spacesuited form looking truly other-worldly in a ghostly black-and-white TV image beamed to millions of viewers on Earth. He then stepped off the LM and on to the moon with the famous words, "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." Shortly thereafter, Aldrin joined him on the lunar surface, and the two astronauts planted the U.S. flag, deployed scientific instruments, and listened to a congratulatory call from President Nixon. After a moonwalk lasting 2 1/2 hours, Armstrong and Aldrin returned to the LM and blasted off the Moon's surface the following day, rejoining Collins in orbit. The three men of Apollo 11 returned successfully to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on 24 July, 1969 to conclude one of the great historic voyages of exploration.