Man on the Moon: Remembering Apollo 11

man on the moon newspaper

2019 marked the 50th anniversary of man’s first steps on the Moon. On July 20th 1969 Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins became the first crew to successfully land on the Moon. To celebrate this epic milestone, our team are selling original newspapers that were produced on the day the news spread far and wide across the world. This article will discuss the world-famous event and these three pathfinders: their background and the role they played in the venture. This post will also discuss the disparity in opinions shared from the day of the event, the theories and conspiracies that have emerged, giving an insight to the content of our original moon landing newspaper article from 1969.

Man on moon newspaper

Daily Mirror front page, July 1969


The Pathfinders

Armstrong: Described as notoriously aloof, Neil Armstrong was a graduate of Purdue University and had only ever completed one spaceflight before his second (and last) flight on Apollo 11 as commander of the crew. Upon landing, it is said that Armstrong’s heart reached 150 beats per minute, as he prepared to change the course of human history. When taking the first steps ever recorded on the Moon’s surface, Armstrong was shown live on a global television broadcast that was watched by around 600 million people – an estimated 14% of the world’s population at the time. Although Armstrong infamously misquoted the prepared speech, his description of the landing as “One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Mankind” will never be forgotten. Armstrong and his crew are fittingly referred to as pathfinders in history within our own moon landing newspaper report.

Aldrin: Buzz Aldrin was the command module pilot for the Apollo 11 spaceflight and the second man (by a delay of 9 minutes) to ever step foot on the surface of the Moon. Buzz was always academic: finishing Montclair High School a year early and graduating third in his class at the US Military Academy in mechanical engineering, and was the first ever astronaut with a doctorate degree. Interestingly, Aldrin’s first application to NASA was rejected with him not being accepted to Group 3 until a year later. Although Buzz Aldrin was not the first man on the Moon, he was the first man to take part in a religious ceremony on the Moon – conducting his own private communion. Along with his crew, Aldrin was awarded with the Congressional Gold Medal in 2011, amongst many other awards.

Collins: A self-confessed loner, Michael Collins almost missed the opportunity to be part of the Apollo 11 crew due to surgery he’d had to fuse two vertebrae together. As the lunar module pilot, Collins had the responsibility of keeping the spacecraft in orbit; flying solo while Aldrin and Armstrong landed the Eagle spacecraft and completed their moon walk. Reportedly, Collins was extremely nervous about the survival of his crew upon landing, a feeling that was shared by Aldrin, Armstrong and others – including the President of the United States. Then President, Richard Nixon, had already prepared a speech for the worst-case scenario: “Fate has ordained that the men who went to the Moon to explore in peace will stay on the Moon to rest in peace”. In reality, the spaceflight was completed with minimal disruption. Reportedly Collins never felt lonely during the independent orbit, despite being very alone. He knew he had played an equal and important role in the mission as the rest of his team. Instead of loneliness, he described experiencing feelings of awareness, satisfaction and confidence.

Man on moon newspaper

Newspaper feature “The Pathfinders”

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The Scepticism

But did we really land on the Moon? It is claimed that 25% of the British public believe that the Moon landing was a hoax. There are multiple moon landing conspiracy theories that have been discussed in recent years, which would support this belief and have been used to explain why so many people are confident the Moon landing never happened.

The Space Race: One conspiracy theory claims that a hoax was motivated by America’s desire to be the first country to land man on the Moon, ahead of the Soviet Union. Due to an ongoing Cold War between the two nations, it is likely that the United States would have wanted to show technological and mechanical advancement. It is thought that, in a bid to receive global recognition and acclaim, the United States falsified the landing on the moon and were able to fuel the hoax with fake images and footage filmed from a studio. From research conducted by supporters of the theory, light, positioning and reflection oddities are suggested within the footage of the astronauts during their walk on the Moon.

Missing Data: One of the most credible and popular conspiracy theories draws on the knowledge that there are various blueprints, designs and drawings of the Apollo 11 technology and machinery that have been ‘misplaced’. Arguably the most heavily discussed missing object is the official videotape of the Apollo 11 landing. When the historic event was broadcast live worldwide, the quality was poor and indistinct – however, the actual footage was highly detailed and clear. These images were not stored correctly, and somewhere between 1975 and 1979 over 10,000 reels of data were misplaced never to be re-discovered. Amongst hoax supporters and ‘Moon Doubters’, this lack of footage has led to suspicion over the truth of the event.

Although there are doubts and scepticism surrounding the truth of the first ever moon landing, it is frequently thought that conspiracy theories are impossible due to their size and high complexity. An estimate figure of 400,000 members of staff who worked on the Apollo project would have needed to be trusted with the details of the hoax, and to this day have not commented on any conspiracies. It is often argued that it would have been simpler to actually land man on the Moon, than to generate, monitor and contain such a huge lie.

If you would like to learn more about the Pathfinders involved in the Apollo 11 venture, about the scepticism surrounding it- or just want to read about one of the world’s most historic events, take a look at an original 1969 newspaper.

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frequently asked questions

Newspaper Books

What are newspaper books?

Each of our Newspaper Books are created with copies of authentic newspapers from specific dates or categories. Each book allows you to choose from various cover colours and designs, and to make it truly special by personalising it with a name and dedication, printed right in the book.

With Newspaper Date books you choose a specific date, for example a birthdate, and we'll create a book containing the front page for the specified date for every subsequent year since. For example, a date of July 13th, 1978, would contain the front page for July 13th for each year forward.

Our History books offer a glimpse into the past, bringing together headlines and articles relating to some of history's most fascinating or iconic events. Choose from Military History, British Royal History, and World Events; each book revisits key events, all through the eyes of the reporters who were there.

If Sports History is more your interest, you can revisit key matches, events, tournaments and races from decades past. Select your favourite team from Football, Hockey, Rugby, and more, and relive every glorious moment through the magic of print.

And, Pop Culture fans won't be left out - get an all access pass and revisit events in Music, Film, & TV. Relive the history of Classic Rock, Star Wars, Taylor Swift, and more, all through newspaper headlines.

Note that each of our Newspaper Books contain true copies of real newspaper content. We don't edit, change, or censor what was originally included in each paper. This means that each book will reflect the true history as it was printed, good or bad.

Personalising Newspaper Books
How does personalisation work?

As you create your Newspaper book, you'll be prompted to personalise it in a few different ways.

First, you'll be able to choose from a selection of cover colours, as well as a cover design. Simply click the options available, and you'll see the image update to match your selection, helping you to choose your favourite.

In addition to the look of your cover, you're also able to add the recipient's name, which will be printed right on the front cover. You can see how this looks in the example images on our website, it appears right next to the words "Presented To"

And finally, a special dedication is printed right inside the book. You can opt to use or add to our pre-written sentiment, or write your very own from scratch.



Does it have to be personalised?

At this time, there isn't any way to create one of our newspaper books without a First Name. It's a request we've shared with our product team, but at the moment don't know when this option might be available.

Please note that anything that is entered into the recipient's name box will print exactly as it's entered. This means that writing 'no personalisation' for example, will result in your book printing with that showing on the cover.

If you prefer not to use a first name, we suggest using a phrase related to your chosen book. For example for writing "A big fan", or using nickname or relationship, such as "My Partner", or simply "You" or "Me"

Gifting
Can I send a gift directly to the recipient

Yes indeed! Both our Newspaper Books and Our Original Newspapers make incredible gifts for the special people in your life.

While placing your order you'll have the option to add a special gift box, which your item will be carefully placed inside prior to packaging and shipping.


For our Newspaper Books, you can also include a special dedication which will be printed directly in the book you've created - free of charge.


During checkout, you'll be able to enter in the recipient's shipping address, separately from your billing one. And, we never include any pricing or invoices within the parcels themselves, so the recipient won't see those details at all.


Note that at this time we're unable to include any gift notes or separate gift messages within the orders.

Placing an Order

Add content here...What happens when I place an order?

Once your order has been placed, the details are immediately sent to our workshops for processing.

If you've ordered an Original Newspaper, our team of Archivists in our warehouse located in Western Scotland will carefully pick, examine, prepare, and package your order.


If you've ordered a Newspaper Book, details for your customised book will be sent directly to our Printhouse located in the United Kingdom, where an automated printing process will print, trim, bind, and cure you book before it is carefully packaging it for shipping.

Note that as our orders are processed very soon after they're received, we are not able to make any changes or amendments, or cancel any orders.

Returns, Cancellation, and Edit Policies

Due to the automated nature of our order processing, we're unable to make changes or amendments to an order once it's been completed, nor are we able to cancel orders once after they've been placed.

For information about our Returns Policy, please visit this link >> HERE