July 20: International Moon Day in homage to the first step off Earth

The International Moon Day is every 20th of July in commemoration of the landing of the Apollo 11 mission, the first manned trip to reach and descend on the lunar surface. This event not only marked a milestone in the space race, but also represented the beginning of the era of space exploration with human presence beyond planet Earth.

For this reason, the United Nations General Assembly officially declared July 20 as the International Moon Day, not only to commemorate this historic achievement, but also to raise awareness of the importance of space science and technology, and its role in the sustainable development of humanity.

How was the creation of International Moon Day originated?

The establishment of this commemoration by the UN has as its main objective to recognize the relevance of the first manned landing in history, which occurred on July 20, 1969 with the American mission Apollo 11. Also, looking for:

• Raise awareness among the international community about the need to promote the exploration and sustainable use of the Moon.
• Foster international cooperation on scientific and space issues.
• Highlight the role of science, innovation and technology in the progress of humanity.
• Link space achievements with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and contemporary global challenges.

Apollo 11: The First Human Contact with the Moon

The Apollo 11 mission was the fifth manned mission of the Apollo program developed by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States), and the first to achieve humans walking on the Moon. The mission's launch occurred on the 16th of July, 1969 from the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, aboard the Saturn V rocket. The crew was composed of three astronauts:

• Neil Armstrong, mission commander.
• Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, lunar module pilot.
• Michael Collins, command module pilot, who remained in lunar orbit while his colleagues descended.

After four days of travel, on July 20, 1969, the lunar module "Eagle" successfully landed on the surface of the Moon, in an area known as the Sea of Tranquility (Mare Tranquillitatis). It was then that Neil Armstrong, upon descending the module's ladder, uttered one of the most famous phrases in history: "That's one small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind." Minutes later, Buzz Aldrin also descended, becoming the second human to walk on the lunar surface. In total, both astronauts spent 21 hours and 36 minutes on the Moon, while the moonwalk lasted approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Why was the Apollo 11 mission so important?

The Apollo 11 moon landing represented a technological and political victory for the United States in the context of the Cold War and the Space Race against the Soviet Union. But beyond that historical context, the mission forever changed humanity's relationship with the universe.

This event:

• He demonstrated that space exploration was possible, beyond Earth's orbit.
• He laid the groundwork for future missions, both manned and unmanned, to other celestial bodies.
• He drove scientific, technological, and engineering advances that are now applied in multiple areas: telecommunications, medicine, materials, transportation, among others.
• He inspired entire generations to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The Moon in the Future: Sustainability, Science, and International Cooperation

Today, more than half a century after the first moon landing, the Moon is once again at the center of global space exploration. Space agencies such as NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), Roscosmos (Russia), CNSA (China) and ISRO (India) are planning new missions that not only seek to return to the Moon, but to establish permanent human presence through scientific bases, resource mining and launch stations for missions to Mars. In this sense, the International Moon Day also promotes a sustainable use approach, remembering that the expansion of the human being into space must be done with responsibility, cooperation, and an ethical vision.