43 years ago, man first landed on the moon

43 years ago the Apollo 11 landed on the surface of the moon and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin leave being the first human footprints on the lunar surface.

Photo: Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot, walks on the surface of the Moon near the leg of the Lunar Module "Eagle" during the Apollo 11 exravehicular activity. Astronaut Neil A Armstrong, commander, took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera. While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the Lunar Module "Eagle" to explore the Sea of Tranquility region of the Moon, astronaut Michael Collins, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules "Columbia" in lunar orbit.

Smoke and flames signal the opening of a historic journey as the Saturn V clears the launch pad on July 16, 1969.

Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.

This interior view of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module shows Astronaut Edwin E Aldrin, Jr, lunar module pilot, during the lunar landing mission. This picture was taken by Astronaut Neil A Armstrong, commander, prior to the moon landing.

The astronauts left behind an American flag, a patch honoring the fallen Apollo 1 crew, and a plaque on one of Eagle's legs. It reads, "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind."

Buzz Aldrin climbs down the Eagle's ladder to the surface.

Crater 308 stands out in sharp relief in this photo from lunar orbit.

One of the first steps taken on the Moon, this is an image of Buzz Aldrin's bootprint from the Apollo 11 mission. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

Astronaut Edwin E 'Buzz' Aldrin Jr, Lunar Module pilot, is photographed during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity on the Moon. He has just deployed the Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package. In the foreground is the Passive Seismic Experiment Package; beyond it is the Laser Ranging Retro-Reflector; in the center background is the United States flag; in the left background is the black and white lunar surface television camera; in the far right background is the Lunar Module "Eagle". Astronaut Neil A Armstrong, commander, took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera.

Astronaut Neil A Armstrong, Apollo ll mission commander, at the modular equipment storage assembly of the Lunar Module "Eagle" on the historic first extravehicular activity on the lunar surface. Astronaut Edwin E Aldrin Jr took the photograph with a Hasselblad 70mm camera. Most photos from the Apollo 11 mission show Buzz Aldrin. This is one of only a few that show Neil Armstrong.

Astronaut Edwin E 'Buzz' Aldrin Jr, Lunar Module pilot, is photographed during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity on the Moon. He has just deployed the Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package. In the foreground is the Passive Seismic Experiment Package; beyond it is the Laser Ranging Retro-Reflector; in the center background is the United States flag; in the left background is the black and white lunar surface television camera; in the far right background is the Lunar Module "Eagle". Astronaut Neil A Armstrong, commander, took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot of the first lunar landing mission, poses for a photograph beside the deployed United States flag during an Apollo 11 Extravehicular Activity on the lunar surface. The Lunar Module is on the left, and the footprints of the astronauts are clearly visible in the soil of the Moon. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, took this picture with a 70mm Hasselblad lunar surface camera. While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the LM, the "Eagle", to explore the Sea of Tranquility region of the Moon, astronaut Michael Collins, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules "Columbia" in lunar-orbit.

Apollo 11 mission patch.