Astronaut Gallery

Buzz Aldrin stands next to the American flag on the surface of the Moon, July 1969

Buzz Aldrin stands next to the American flag on the surface of the Moon, Apollo 11 mission, July 1969. US astronaut Edwin E "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr, lunar module pilot of the first lunar landing mission, in the Sea of Tranquility during an Apollo 11 moon walk. The footprints of the astronauts are clearly visible in the lunar soil. Astronaut Neil Armstrong, commander, took this picture with a 70mm Hasselblad lunar surface camera. The Apollo 11 Lunar Module, code named Eagle, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on board, landed in the Sea of Tranquillity on 20 July 1969. Apollo 11 was the fifth manned Apollo mission, and was the first to land on the Moon

© Heritage Space / Heritage-Images

Buzz Aldrin and the U.S. Flag on the Moon, 1969. Creator: Neil Armstrong

Buzz Aldrin and the U.S. Flag on the Moon, 1969. 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 (EVA) on the lunar surface. The Lunar Module (LM) 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 (CSM) "Columbia" in lunar-orbit

© Heritage Space/Heritage Images

Pilot Neil Armstrong and X-15 #1, 1960. Creator: NASA

Pilot Neil Armstrong and X-15 #1, 1960. Dryden pilot Neil Armstrong is seen here next to the X-15 ship #1 (56-6670) after a research flight. The X-15 was a rocket-powered aircraft 50 feet long with a wingspan of 22 feet. It was a missile-shaped vehicle with an unusual wedge-shaped vertical tail, thin stubby wings, and unique side fairings that extended along the side of the fuselage. The X-15 was flown over a period of nearly 10 years, from June 1959 to October 1968. It set the world's unofficial speed and altitude records. Information gained from the highly successful X-15 program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo manned spaceflight programs, and also the Space Shuttle program. The X-15s made a total of 199 flights, and were manufactured by North American Aviation. X-15-1, serial number 56-6670, is now located at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC. North American X-15A- 2, serial number 56-6671, is at the United States Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. X-15-3, serial number 56-6672, crashed on November 15, 1967, resulting in the death of Major Michael J. Adams

© Heritage Space/Heritage Images