In this July 20, 1969 file photo from NASA, Astronaut Edwin E.
Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, is photographed walking near the
lunar module during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity. A
look in photos back at the moment the whole world watched on
July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first made
that giant leap for mankind. The Cold War and Vietnam were
heating up and the country was tearing itself apart as the '60s
reached a climax, but for one moment, as Walter Cronkite broke
out in a gleeful sigh of relief, none of it mattered. We, the
human race, had tread upon another planet, you know, if it
really happened. We were no longer bound by Earth's pull. Many
more lunar landing photos after the jump ... Astronaut Edwin E.
"Buzz" Aldrin Jr. poses for a photograph beside the U.S. flag
deployed on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. The crinkles
to emulate the flag blowing in the wind are artificial - since
there's no wind to blow in. Most of Africa and portions of
Europe and Asia can be seen in