It was 53 years ago on this very day that NASA astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon. We’ve already seen the many famous pictures from that historic day, so we’ve assembled 25 overlooked images that still capture the spirit and wonder of humanity’s first trek to the lunar surface.
Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida, on July 16, 1969, on an unprecedented nine-day mission to land on and explore the lunar surface. It marked humanity’s first opportunity to study the Moon in-person, so NASA was sure to send the crew with an assortment of cameras and accessories. The results were spectacular, with the mission capturing hundreds of photos and videos, which NASA has made available through the Apollo 11 Image Library.
On this, the 53rd anniversary of the first crewed Moon landing, we scoured the archives to find images that didn’t make it to the newspapers or were otherwise forgotten. They may not be the best photos of Apollo 11, but they’re still goosebump-inducing.
