Captured by Neil Armstrong, Shared by NASA: Space Agency Releases New Stunning Panaromic Photos of Moon's Surface

NASA has shared stunning new panoramic photos of our very own moon, taken by none other than Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 mission which was launched on July 16, 1969. The photos taken by Armstrong have been given a panoramic view by combining missions's image frames.

Taking to Instagram, the Space Agency NASA informed that the wide panaromic photos show the lunar surface taken by Astronaut Neil Armstrong at the Tranquility base of a crater which Armstrong noted during the moon landing, back in 1969.

The Apollo 11 was launched from NASA Kennedy centre on July 16, 1969, carrying Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin. They landed on the Moon four days later on July 20.

Neil Armstrong, first man to set foot on Moon 

In 1969, Neil Armstrong, the commander of NASA’s Apollo 11 mission, made history as he became the first man to land on Moon’s surface. An American astronaut and aeronautical engineer, Neil Armstrong landed on Moon on July 20, 1969.

Commenting on this breakthrough and a pivotal moment in the history of space exploration, Neil Armstrong said that his landing on the moon was a “small step for a man and one giant leap for mankind.”

The Apollo 11 mission landing on the moon, a landmark moment in the history, was watched by over 650 million people around the world.

Armstrong was born in Ohio on August 5, 1930 and died August 25, 2012. He was also an engineer, pilot and college professor. He retired from NASA after Apollo 11.

NASA's Apollo 11 mission: Lesser known facts 

• The Apollo 11 crew was quarantined for 21 days by NASA when they returned back to earth. This was done to make sure astronauts didn’t bring any unknown disease or bacteria from space.
• Apollo 11 crew brought moon soil which smelled like wet ashes.
• The 70-pound Apollo 11 guidance computer used during the mission was less powerful than a modern age smartphone today.
• The area identified by the Apollo 11 crew to land on the moon was called the ‘sea of tranquillity’ which appeared smooth for landing.
• There was only 30 seconds of fuel left on the lunar module when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon.
• Unlike earth, the gravity on moon is 1/6 of what we have on our planet blue. So if one would to jump on the lunar surface, the person will be tossed up six times higher in the air.
• After returning from the Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong kept working for the space agency and discovered computer navigation technology called ‘fly-by-wire’, still used in the aviation industry.
• Though Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to the moon, India's Chandrayaan-3 was world's first successful space program which landed on the far side of the lunar surface, in its second attempt.