The command module, Columbia, piloted by Collins orbited the moon while Armstrong and Aldrin descended to the surface in the lunar lander and made the historic landing.

Having spent twenty-one hours on the surface the two returned to the command module which continued in its orbit.

Before breaking the orbit one of the astronauts, it is not known which, took this photograph of the earth rising over the moon’s horizon. The photo became one of the most famous ever published by NASA.