FRESNO (KMJ) – This weekend marks the half-century anniversary of the moon landing, and everyone from the president to professors at Fresno State are marking the occasion.
President Donald Trump commemorated the 50th anniversary of the first human steps on the moon at an oval office meeting with former Apollo 11 astronauts.
The group included Buzz Aldrin, Mike Collins and the family of Neil Armstrong.
Dr. Steve White from the Downing Planetarium at Fresno State says the lunar landing happened only about seven decades after people first took to the skies, a huge achievement.
“In fact I like to think about my grandpa, he was seven when the wright brothers first flew, and so he was 75 when they landed on the moon, one human lifetime to go all that way,” White said.
Armstrong, who died in 2012, and Aldrin made history when they landed on the moon 50 years ago Saturday, as Collins orbited overhead in their command module.
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” Neil Armstrong said.
“It was PR for the world. To show the Soviets that we’re are better, to show the world. And once we had done it, every time we repeated it, we were taking a grave risk that we might fail,” White said.
Clint Olivier KMJ News.
