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Man lands on the moon

21 July 1969

Man lands on the moon

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  • Intro

    After World War II, several nations, particularly the Soviet Union and the United States (enemies in the Cold War) competed to be the first to send rockets, then animals, then men into space. For many years, the Soviets led this 'space race', sending the first man, Yuri Gagarin, to orbit the earth on April 13, 1961. But the US was the first country to send men to the moon. The iconic moon landing took place on 21 July 1969. Millions around the world watched the landing on television; politics, war, famine and other news stories were pushed to the back of the queue as the world celebrated an outstanding example of human endeavour.

     

    This is a 'Moon Landing' souvenir issue for the London newspaper, the Evening Standard. Editors created a 'mock-up' of the main image in advance, as real pictures from the moon were not yet available. Fast equipment to send photographic images through space had not yet been invented. The real pictures, seen all over the world, were released between 2 and 3 weeks later.

     

    In the audio tab, listen to a recording of the live broadcast of the moon landing, featuring Neil Armstrong's famous words - "It's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind".

     

    Image Copyright: John Frost Newspaper Archive.

    Shelfmark: British Library Newspaper Archive.

  • Image

  • Audio

    Can't play the file above? Listen to the audio clip here

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