First Steps on the Moon

Ironically enough, this picture was not of the first footprint of man on moon, yet the photo became the symbol of man’s first step on moon–that ‘one small step’ Neil Armstrong talked about when he landed. It was the picture of the tentative human foothold outside this planet. It was the picture that epitomized our presence from the top of Mts Everest to the depths of Marianas Trenches.

The photo was a close-up view of the bootprint of astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Aldrin making that print can be seen below. It was photographed with a 70mm lunar surface camera during the Apollo 11 lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) on July 20th, 1969, during an experiment to test the properties of the lunar regolith. The footprints left by the astronauts in Mare Tranquillitatis (the Sea of Tranquility) would be more permanent than many solid structures on Earth. Lack of wind to blow them away ensures that barring a chance meteorite impact, these impressions in the lunar soil will probably last for millions of years.