Apollo 11 Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the United States. The bill was sponsored by Florida Senator Bill Nelson and Florida Representative Alan Grayson. A group of British scientists interviewed as part of the anniversary events reflected on the significance of the Moon landing: Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first two people on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin, both American, landed the lunar module "Eagle" on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC. Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface six hours after landing on
Apollo 15 German stamp dealer after their return. Ironically, this mission was one of very few that had been honored with the issue of a commemorative US stamp, with this first use of a lunar rover happening one decade after the launch of the first manned Mercury mission. In 1962, NASA contracted for fifteen Saturn V Moon rockets to achieve the Apollo program's goal of a manned landing on the Moon by 1970; at the time no one knew how many missions would be required to achieve this. Since success was obtained with the sixth Saturn V on Apollo 11, nine rockets