Apollo 11: The Foreign Reaction

Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park.

Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. completed the first manned landing on the Moon at 1:54 PM EDT on July 21, 1969, when they lifted off the Moon to rejoin their comrade Michael Collins, who had remained in orbit around the Moon.  Even as the astronauts began the long journey home to Earth, where they splashed down at 12:51 EDT on July 24, the United States Information Agency (USIA) sent President Richard Nixon the following preliminary report on worldwide reaction to the Moon landing.

memo to the President stating worldwide TV audience of moon landing
cont'd: Voice of America broadcast reached 500 million across world, mission covered in 33 languages

Source: File INF 7-6 Apollo 11, Office of Policy and Plans, Program Coordination Staff, Subject Files, 1966-71 (NAID 1261446), Entry P-12, RG 306: Records of the United States Information Agency.

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