TV Times – 13 July 2019

D

uring the early

hours of Monday

21 July 1969, with

half a billion people

watching all over

the world, Neil Armstrong stepped

out of Apollo 11’s lunar module and

became the first man in history to

set foot on the moon.

As he did so, the American

astronaut uttered the words, ‘That’s

one small step for man, one giant

leap for mankind,’ and it’s a moment

that will never be forgotten by his

son, Mark Armstrong.

‘I think he thought of a number

of things to say at that moment,’ says

Mark, who was six years old when

he watched his father on TV. ‘But he

knew what a challenge it would

be to get there, so I don’t think he

made a decision until they had

actually landed on the moon!’

It’s a historic sentence

that still captures people’s

imaginations decades later,

and, this week, ITV’s documentary

The Day We Walked on the Moon

celebrates the 50th anniversary of

the first moonwalk by retelling that

groundbreaking mission.

Neil’s fellow Apollo 11 colleague

Michael Collins, members of

mission control and celebrities,

including Sir Trevor McDonald and

Professor Brian Cox, all share their

stories of watching history unfold.

None of those watching along at

home were as nervous as astronaut

Buzz Aldrin’s young son, Andrew.

‘My father soon joined Neil

Armstrong on the moon’s surface,’

says Andrew. ‘I was convinced he

would trip and fall flat on his

back in front of 600 million

people – but most importantly,

my 200 classmates!’

Neil and Buzz spent over two

hours on the moon’s surface,

taking photographs, collecting

samples and planting an American

flag, before returning to the

module and lifting off to rejoin

Michael on the spacecraft above.

It was a nail-biting moment

• if the engines of the rocket
  failed, they were doomed.
  ‘I was terrified that my dad
  wouldn’t come home,’ says Andrew.
  ‘So when the ascent rocket fired,
  the monster that lived under my
  bed was slain!’
  Sean Marland

PHOTOS: BBC, GETTY, ITV, PA IMAGES

Dad went

to the moon

Neil Armstrong and

Buzz Aldrin’s sons

on watching their

dads make history

THE DAY WE WALKED ON

THE MOON IS PREVIEWED

ON PAGES 56-

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Proud sons: Mark and

Eric Armstrong

recall their dad’s

moon landing

18 TV TIMES

NEW FACTUAL

The Day We Walked

on the Moon

TUESDAY / ITV / 9PM