7 Vintage Moon Mission Images for Apollo 11 Anniversary

1. 

   Saturn V Rocket Launch

   On July 16, the Saturn V Rocket makes it's way out of the earth's atmosphere, beginning the three-day journey to the moon.

   Image: NASA/Apollo 11 via NASA Goddard

2. 

   Spectators

   Former President Lyndon B. Johnson and Vice President Spiro Agnew, along with a crowd of spectators, watch in awe of Apollo 11 liftoff.

   Image: NASA/APOLLO 11 via NASA Goddard

3. 

   Solar Corona From Lunar Orbit

   The solar corona, or the sun's outer atmosphere, is visible around the moon in this image taken while the Apollo 11 Command and Service Module was in lunar orbit. Surrounding the celestial bodies is the darkness of deep space.

   Image: NASA/APOLLO 11 via NASA Goddard

4. 

   Lunar Module Separation

   Here the Lunar Module is shown in separation from the Command Module, before its descent to the lunar surface. The Command Module stayed in orbit during the duration of the moon mission, housing lone astronaut Michael Collins. "Blackness of space in background," according to the NASA image caption.

   Image: NASA/APOLLO 11 via NASA Goddard

5. 

   Armstrong's Shadow Against Lunar Surface

   Neil Armstrong's shadow is shown against hte moon's surface, with the Lunar Module, known as The Eagle, in the background at its landing site, the Sea of Tranquility.

   Image: NASA/APOLLO 11 via NASA Goddard

6. 

   Armstrong, Aldrin, the Stars and Stripes

   In this iconic image, astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin are shown planting the United States flag on the moon's surface, completing the decades-long space race with the Soviet Union for exploratory domination.

   Image: NASA/APOLLO 11 via NASA Goddard

7. 

   Memorabilia

   Classic Apollo 11 memorabilia, including a mission patch, press kit, and magazines.

   Image: Flickr, Charles Atkeison

8. 

   Bonus: Modern Moon Reflected, From Space

   Four decades later, NASA continues to captivate our imagination with images of our world from space. This photograph of the border between Italy and France captures the moon's reflection, or moonglint, in the Ligurian Sea, to France's south. It was taken by an International Space Station astronaut in 2010.

   Image: NASA Goddard

9. 

   Bonus: New Moon and Full Moon

   Taken in 2011, these NASA images show our moon in all its glory. It's at its earliest visible waxing crescent (left) and full (right) phases.

Forty-four years ago on July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin landed on the moon's surface, successfully completing humankind's first manned lunar landing as part of the Apollo 11 spaceflight.

Eight years prior, on May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy had challenged a joint special session of Congress: "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth." In response, NASA scientists persevered through failed missions and various setbacks to achieve the far-flung objective during the Apollo 11 mission. Armstrong himself recently remarked on the uncertainty of the mission, saying he believed the lunar module only had a 50% chance of completing its objective and landing on the moon's surface.

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To commemorate the event that will remain forever paramount in the history of space exploration, we've compiled a slideshow of vintage NASA images of the Apollo 11 mission, including the Saturn V rocket's launch, famous spectators watching liftoff in awe and the lunar module's separation from the command module, once in lunar orbit.

Some background on the momentous event: The 36-story Saturn V rocket carrying Armstrong, Aldrin and Michael Collins launched the morning of July 16 from Cape Canaveral, Fla., beginning its three-day, quarter-million-mile journey to the moon. On July 19, once in orbit, the lunar module, which was slated to carry Aldrin and Armstrong to the lunar surface, separated from the command module, which would continue in orbit, carrying astronaut Michael Collins alone until it would be time to return to earth.

Upon landing successfully on the moon's surface, Armstrong radioed his famous message to mission control in Houston: "Tranquillity Base here," he said. "The Eagle has landed." After being joined on the ground by Aldrin, the two spent approximately two and a half hours on the surface, collecting soil and rock samples, and taking photographs.

In addition to the U.S. flag and various other objects, the astronauts left behind a plaque on the moon's surface that read: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon — July 1969 A.D. — We came in peace for all mankind." They returned successfully four days later, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on the afternoon of July 24, completing the Apollo 11 spaceflight.

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Buzz Aldrin tweeted about the achievement on Saturday, commemorating both the anniversary and his late colleague, Armstrong, who died last year at age 82.

44 years ago today Neil took this photo of me at Tranquility Base on the moon. We all miss you Neil. http://t.co/d6PD7qpjK6

— Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) July 20, 2013

Al Kuhn, a propulsion engineer who worked on designing the Apollo 11 lunar module, also reflected on the magnitude of the moment. He told the San Jose Mercury News: "[Apollo]'s contribution, 500 years from now, may be the way the 20th century is remembered. We did it. Against terrific odds. The first step away from our little planet."

Image: NASA/Apollo 11 via NASA Goddard Space Flight Center