Apollo 11: To the moon and back

Apollo 11 astronauts (left to right) Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin Photograph: Ralph Morse/Getty Images

24 February 1969: Armstrong and Aldrin practise their rock-sampling techniques at Sierra Blanca in Texas Photograph: Nasa

Armstrong simulates walking on the moon during EVA (extravehicular activity) training Photograph: Nasa

April: Aldrin during EVA training Photograph: NASA

20 May: Saturn V SA-506 is rolled from the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) and down the 3.5 mile crawlerway to Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida Photograph: Nasa

20 June: Command module pilot Michael Collins in the Apollo Mission Simulator at Kennedy Space Centre Photograph: NASA

16 July: Armstrong waves as he, Collins and Aldrin make their way to the launch complex Photograph: Nasa

Spectators at Cape Kennedy (later Cape Canaveral), Florida Photograph: Ralph Crane/Getty Images

9.32am EDT: Liftoff. In the foreground is a small part of the vast throng that flocked to Cocoa Beach to witness the spectacle Photograph: Bettmann/Corbis

Composite of the Saturn V rocket rising from the launchpad as the gantry swings aside Photograph: Ralph Morse/Getty Images

Mission officials at the Launch Control Centre following the successful launch. From left to right are Charles W. Mathews, deputy associate administrator for manned space flight; Dr Wernher von Braun, German rocket pioneer and director of the Marshall Space Flight Centre; George Mueller, associate administrator for manned space flight; and Lieutenant General Samuel C Phillips, director of the Apollo programme Photograph: Nasa

One hundred hours and 12 minutes into the mission, the command/service module Columbia releases the lunar module Eagle for its descent to the Sea of Tranquility. The picture was taken by Collins from the command module Photograph: Nasa

The view from Columbia as it pulls away from the Eagle prior to its descent Photograph: Nasa/Corbis

View from the Eagle during its approach to the landing site, Tranquility Base Photograph: NASA

Flight controllers during the lunar module descent (from left to right) Charles Duke (Capcom), and astronauts Jim Lovell (backup commander) and Fred Haise (backup lunar module pilot) Photograph: Nasa

Armstrong's first photo after setting foot on the moon Photograph: Nasa

Aldrin descends the lunar module's ladder. The picture catches him with both feet in the air Photograph: Nasa

Aldrin's boot and bootprint in the powdery lunar soil Photograph: Nasa

Aldrin poses for Armstrong, who can be seen reflected in his visor Photograph: Neil Armstrong/ Corbis

Aldrin unpacks experiments from the lunar module Photograph: Nasa

He carries the experiments to their deployment positions Photograph: Nasa

Aldrin sets up a seismic experiment Photograph: NASA

East Crater with the Eagle in the distance Photograph: Moonpans/Nasa

The lunar module's starboard footpad and contact probe. In the background are the solar wind experiment, flag and camera Photograph: Nasa

A television camera in the desolate lunar landscape Photograph: Nasa

The Stars and Stripes and astronauts' footprints viewed from above as the Eagle blasts off Photograph: Nasa

Eagle before docking with the command module after ascent from the surface Photograph: Nasa

The moon as seen from Columbia after the command module had fired its engines to leave lunar orbit for the journey home Photograph: Nasa

Earth from orbit Photograph: Nasa

24 July: Columbia after splashdown in the Pacific as frogmen prepare to open the hatch Photograph: Bettman/Corbis

The scene at Mission Control in Houston, Texas, as news comes through of the successful completion of the mission Photograph: Nasa

24 July: President Nixon shares a joke with (from right to left) Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin, through the window of the Mobile Quarantine Facility aboard USS Hornet Photograph: Dirck Halstead/Corbis

13 August, New York: Tickertape rains down on a cheering crowd as the astronauts pass by during a parade to celebrate their historic achievement Photograph: Bettmann/Corbis

Earthrise Photograph: Nasa

The ladder and base of the lunar module left behind on the moon, bearing a commemorative plaque signed by Armstrong, Collins, Aldrin and President Nixon. It reads: "HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON, JULY 1969 A. D. WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND" Photograph: Nasa