COLLECTION USA-SPAIN 50TH ANNIV. 1ST LANDING ON THE MOON (2019) ID92897013
On July 20, 1969, Apollo XI astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the Moon for the first time. Their historic journey was supervised and controlled by NASA's three space tracking facilities located on Spanish soil: Fresnedillas (Madrid), Robledo de Chavela (Madrid) and Maspalomas (Gran Canaria). Second by second, North American and Spanish technicians protected and controlled the status of the astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, as well as that of their spacecreafts Columbia and Eagle.
To commemorate the man’s arrival to the moon and the contribution of the Spanish facilities to this event The Royal Spanish Mint has reached an agreement with the US Mint to developed a joint product of 2 coins in the same package. One coin will be the 8 reales coin from Royal Spanish Mint and the other one will be the curved half-dollar coin. The maximum mintage of the set of 2 coins will be 5.000 units.
Characteristics of the Spanish coin:
The reverse depicts one monitoring antenna based in Spain, the Lunar Module and, as a background, the Moon.
The obverse side depicts a portrait of His Majesty King Felipe VI
Characteristics of the U.S. coin:
The obverse design features the inscriptions “MERCURY,” “GEMINI,” and “APOLLO,” separated by phases of the Moon, and a footprint on the lunar surface, which together represent the efforts of the United States space program leading up to the first manned Moon landing. Additional inscriptions include “2019”, “IN GOD WE TRUST” and “LIBERTY”.
The reverse design features a representation of a close-up of the famous ‘Buzz Aldrin on the Moon’ photograph taken July 20, 1969, that shows just the visor and part of the helmet of astronaut Buzz Aldrin. The reflection in Buzz Aldrin’s helmet includes astronaut Neil Armstrong, the United States flag, and the lunar lander. . Inscriptions include “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “HALF DOLLAR,” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
| Series | 50th Anniversary of 1st Landing on the Moon |
| Year | 2019 |
| Quality | Proof |
| Maximum Mintage (units) | 5,000 |
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 Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC. Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface six hours later on July 21 at 02:56:15 UTC; Aldrin joined him 19 minutes later. They spent about two and a quarter hours together outside the spacecraft, and collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material to bring back to Earth. Command module pilot Michael Collins flew the command module Columbia alone in lunar orbit while they were on the Moon's surface. Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21.5 hours on the lunar surface before rejoining Columbia in lunar orbit.
Apollo 11 was launched by a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, on July 16 at 13:32 UTC, and was the fifth crewed mission of NASA's Apollo program. The Apollo spacecraft had three parts: a command module (CM) with a cabin for the three astronauts, and the only part that returned to Earth; a service module (SM), which supported the command module with propulsion, electrical power, oxygen, and water; and a lunar module (LM) that had two stages – a descent stage for landing on the Moon, and an ascent stage to place the astronauts back into lunar orbit.
After being sent to the Moon by the Saturn V's third stage, the astronauts separated the spacecraft from it and traveled for three days until they entered lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin then moved into Eagle and landed in the Sea of Tranquillity. The astronauts used Eagle's ascent stage to lift off from the lunar surface and rejoin Collins in the command module. They jettisoned Eagle before they performed the maneuvers that propelled them out of lunar orbit on a trajectory back to Earth. They returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24 after more than eight days in space.
Armstrong's first step onto the lunar surface was broadcast on live TV to a worldwide audience. He described the event as "one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Apollo 11 effectively ended the Space Race and fulfilled a national goal proposed in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy: "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."