Imagine calling someone on the moon! President Nixon did just that when he telephoned the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong. Listen to the call, look at photographs, and read letters to the President about the moon landing.

Background

A facet of the Cold War was the space race. The Apollo program was an aggressive push to put a man on the moon before the end of the 1960s.

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon, followed about 20 minutes later by Buzz Aldrin. An estimated 600 million people watched the moon landing. During the moonwalk, astronauts took photographs, gathered samples, set up scientific instruments, raised the flag, and received a phone call from President Nixon. Upon their splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, the astronauts met the President aboard the USS Hornet.

Audio

• Listen to the call between President Nixon and astronaut Neil Armstrong on the moon (transcript)

Photographs

• White House phone used to make the call
• Nixon and astronaut on split TV screen
• Aldrin with flag on the moon

Documents

• July 20, 1969, page of Nixon's Daily Diary
  
• Letter and Drawing of nine-year-old Frank Arangio
• Letter from Vietnam soldier (transcript)

Questions

• There was considerable debate about if the United States should use any flag, its flag, or a flag of the United Nations. What are your thoughts on this matter?
• What does the moon landing symbolize to you
• Is going to the moon a worthy endeavor? Why?

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