Space Mission
Apollo 11, 16-24 July 1969
Photographer
Buzz Aldrin
Photo Description
Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper
Essay
This famous photograph was taken by Buzz Aldrin to provide a visual record of the relative density of the surface in a “soil mechanics test” and is now one of the most iconic of the entire space program.
“I felt buoyant and full of goose pimples when I stepped down on the surface, I immediately looked down at my feet and became intrigued with the peculiar properties of the lunar dust.”
—Buzz Aldrin (NASA SP-350, pg. 11.4)
“Yes, the surface is fine and powdery. I can kick it up loosely with my toe. It does adhere in fine layers, like powdered charcoal, to the sole and sides of my boots. I only go in a small fraction of an inch, maybe an eighth of an inch, but I can see the footprints of my boots and the treads in the fine, sandy particles.”
—Neil Armstrong, after taking his first step on the Moon (at T+109:24:48 after launch)