NASA landed two astronauts on the Moon in the late hours of Sunday, July 20, 1969. An estimated 600 million people watched Commander Neil Armstrong step out onto the Moon’s surface to the tune of his iconic “one small step for a man” catchphrase. Together with Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin and Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, who stayed in lunar orbit, Armstrong led the most memorable event of the 20th century. But 50 years later, as the world celebrates the Apollo 11 mission, the only photos of the Moon landing are those of astronaut Aldrin.
Commander Armstrong was primarily in charge of taking snapshots from the Moon’s surface, roaming around with a Hasselblad camera strapped to his chest.
His most iconic photo is that of Aldrin leaning slightly forward with the Moon’s horizon and pitch-black sky behind him.
The historic photograph has become synonymous with the Moon landing as it captured Armstrong’s and the Lunar Module Eagle’s reflection in Aldrin’s gold helmet visor.
For a long time, it was believed this reflection of the Apollo 11 Commander was the only known photo of Armstrong.
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This is the only known Neil Armstrong on Moon picture only known photo of Neil Armstrong on the Moon (Image: NASA)
The photo of Commander Armstrong was taken by Buzz Aldrin (Image: NASA)
There is, however, one rare photo of Armstrong in his bulky white spacesuit on the Moon.
The photo, shared online by NASA, shows the astronaut working on the Eagle spacecraft.
Armstrong has his back turned to the camera but it is the only known direct photo of the astronaut on the lunar surface.
NASA said: “As commander of Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong took most of the photographs from the historic moonwalk, but this rare shot from fellow moonwalker Buzz Aldrin shows Armstrong at work near the lunar module Eagle.”
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Another indirect picture, snapped by Armstrong himself, shows the astronaut’s shadow stretching out over the Moon’s Tranquility base with the Eagle in the background.
This rare shot from fellow moonwalker Buzz Aldrin shows Armstrong at work
NASA said: “This photograph of the Lunar Module at Tranquility Base was taken by Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 mission, from the rim of Little West Crater on the lunar surface.
“Armstrong’s shadow and the shadow of the camera are visible in the foreground.
“When he took this picture, Armstrong was clearly standing above the level of the Lunar Module’s footpads.
“Darkened tracks lead leftward to the deployment area of the Early Apollo Surface Experiments Package (EASEP) and rightward to the TV camera.
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The most iconic Apollo 11 photo is this one of Buzz Aldrin (Image: NASA)
Neil Armstrong also snapped this photo of his shadow (Image: NASA)
“This is the furthest distance from the lunar module travelled by either astronaut while on the Moon.”
There has been a lot of speculation over the years as to why Aldrin did not take any iconic photos of the Apollo 11 Commander in the same way Armstrong did of Aldrin.
A commonly held belief is Aldrin did this in retaliation for Armstrong pulling rank over who would be the first to exit the Lunar Module.
In a 2014 Reddit AMA thread, Aldrin even said it was a tradition for the junior-ranked crew member to perform the spacewalk.
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The Apollo 11 Commander had a camera strapped to his chest (Image: NASA)
Buzz Aldrin took this photo of Commander Armstrong after they walked on the Moon (Image: NASA)
He said: “There was a group at NASA who felt the junior person, me, should go out first, but many people felt the great symbology of the commander from past expeditions or arrivals at a destination.
“The decision that was made was absolutely correct as far as who went out first, symbolically.
“However who was in charge of what happened after both people are outside, I believe, could have been done differently.
“I was not the commander, I was a junior person, so once both were outside, I followed my leader, because we – NASA – had not put together detailed jobs of people outside.”
Apollo 11 crew: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin (Image: NASA)
Ultimately, NASA decided it would be more symbolic for the Apollo 11 Commander to be the first one outside of the Eagle.
When he stepped outside, he said: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
As to why Aldrin failed to take any great snapshots of Armstrong on the Moon, both astronauts would later say they were too preoccupied with the job at hand to pay much focus to the photos.
Aldrin did, however, take a striking portrait of a teary-eyed Armstrong inside of the Lunar Module once their spacewalk was over.