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On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong's sons, Mark and Rick, were at the family home in Houston and watched on television the father leave the lunar module of Aigle to enter the pages of the story.
Mark, who was 6 years old at the time, said his house was an activity hive on the landing day of Apollo 11 Moon.
"We had two TVs in the house, so I think people were clustered around them, some in the living room and others in one of the bedrooms, I think," he said. he told Fox News. "Friends, family, neighbors, they went in and out. And, of course, we also had the scream box, which I think was in the bedroom at the time, so we could hear what was happening, more than everyone else. "
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It was not just the Armstrongs and their friends who watched with continued attention. According to NASA, about 650 million people around the world watched the moon land on television.
Janet Armstrong, Neil Armstrong's wife, seated on the floor with her two sons, watches the television at home while the lunar module lands on the moon.
(Photo of Vernon Merritt III / The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images)
Mark, who spoke at an event organized by the Smithsonian Channel in New York to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, said that while it was an exciting day, understood the importance that much later. "When you have that age, you do not really understand the historical context of things," said the 56-year-old. "You can see it and feel it, you can feel the energy in the room and you can feel the astonishment of the people around you, but you do not really understand why they are so amazed until you reach it. you grow up a little and learn these things later in life. "
Rick was 12 years old when his father came out of the Eagle Lunar Module and proclaimed, "A small step for a man, a giant step for humanity."
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"When he came out, no one in the room heard what he was saying, it was because they were all," he said. "Rick told Fox News. "I heard it and I said" something about a small step ", but at the time, what was going on was not at all clear , I always remember it. "
US astronaut Neil Armstrong turns to the lunar module on the moon in this NASA photo.
(REUTERS / NASA / Document)
The brothers reported that in the weeks leading up to the Moon's landing, their mother, Janet, took care to isolate them from the tension surrounding the epic mission. "Our mother was obviously worried, but we did not see that, like her children. It seemed like normal days in the previous weeks, "Mark said.
His brother notes that their mother's strength and stoicism were typical of an astronaut's wife.
"The risk, this part, I think, has always been downplayed for kids, not just [by] she, but I think all the brides have done this, try to keep life as normal as possible for the kids so that they do not worry, "Rick added.
Neil Armstrong watches his wife Janet (nee Shearon) play with the couple's son, Mark, in the living room of their Houston home, in March 1969. (Photo by Ralph Morse / LIFE / Getty Images Collection)
Their father also gave them confidence in the weeks leading up to their launch. "What was discussed, is that Dad said that he was flying, they have a lot of confidence in the mission, they trust the spacecraft and they feel ready to leave," said Mark. "For us, it just seemed like," OK, dad looks very confident, so we do not worry. "
The two boys and their mother were in Cape Canaveral, who was then called Cape Kennedy on July 16, 1969, to watch their father, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, launch into space over the sea. 39; a huge Saturn V rocket. It is estimated that more than a million people attended the launch in the immediate vicinity of the Kennedy Space Center.
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"We did not really see everyone," said Rick, who had to miss a star game for his Houston, small league, to attend the launch. "I do not remember exactly where we were, but we watched it from a boat. So I did not remember everyone and the mass that was there. "
On the deck of a boat, Janet Armstrong and her sons Mark and Rick witness the launch of NASA's Apollo 11 mission on the moon, commissioned by her husband, astronaut Neil Armstrong, to Cape Canaveral ( then known as Cape Kennedy), in Florida. 16, 1969.
(Photo of Vernon Merritt III / LIFE / Getty Images Collection)
"A Saturn 5 launch is an amazing thing, and that's really what was at the center of our focus, and what I remember was seeing it in person," he added.
"When you see the launch movie, you see it from the front, we were on the side," Mark said. "Because we were on the side, there was a huge smoke coming out of the sides of the launch pad. And we were there, all we saw was smoke for what seemed like an eternity. And finally, you know, at the very top, this spacecraft went just above the smoke and in the sky, it was an incredible thing. "
Some 50 years after the birth of their father, Aldrin and Collins, the brothers are perfectly aware of the impact of Apollo 11.
Neil Armstrong is shown next to the lunar module. One can also see the United States flag and the solar wind experience practiced in all Apollo missions.
(Photo by SSPL / Getty Images)
"This program has inspired people from around the world, it's Apollo's legacy," Rick told Fox News.
"I think it's more than the Apollo 11 astronauts. Some 400,000 people worked on this program and each wanted to do the best job possible," Mark said. "They did not want to be the weak link in the chain, so each of them did their part and that's why the project was a success, and I think well ahead of time, certainly from point of view of technology. "
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"It was an extraordinary achievement and a great thing we did in this country," he added.
Commander Neil Armstrong descends from the scale of the "Lunar Module" (LM), the "Eagle", to become the first man to set foot on the moon during the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. NASA, July 1969. Video clip taken during the mission. (Photo by Space Frontiers / Getty Images)
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An imprint of the Apollo 11 mission on the lunar surface.
(Photo by NASA / Newsmakers / Getty)
The six-part series of the Smithsonian Channel's "Apollo's Moon Shot" series will premiere on Sunday, June 16, and a special documentary "The day we walked on the moon" was opened on Sunday, July 7.
Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
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