At 2:56 AM GMT on this day in 1969, six and a half hours after landing the Eagle' lunar module, Neil Armstrong took his first small step on the moon's surface.
Armstrong's footfall was the culmination of efforts that started eight years earlier with President John F Kennedy's pledge that America would land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. It signalled a US victory in the space race' with the Soviet Union.
The cost of sending a man to the moon was initially estimated at $7bn. This proved to be wildly optimistic. In 1973, the final cost of the Apollo programme was reported to the US Congress as being $25.4bn.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
The programme brought back 2,415 samples of rock to earth, weighing 382kg, which helped gain an understanding of the moon's composition and origins.
In 2002, four students were arrested for stealing a safe full of moon rocks from Nasa. In the subsequent court case, the rocks were valued at $50,800 per gramme (in 1973 dollars), based on how much it cost to bring them back to earth.
270 lumps of goodwill moon rock' were given away by America's Nixon administration to the various nations of the world, and a further 100 to US states. 160 of them are believed to be missing.
In 2011, a rock missing for 30 years and valued at £10m was found in files belonging to Bill Clinton. The rock given to Honduras was offered for sale on the black market for $5m. And Ireland's rock was apparently thrown away after a fire at Dublin's Dunsink Observatory.
-
House prices rise 2.9% – will the recovery continue?House prices grew by 2.9% on an annual basis in September. Will Budget policies and ‘higher-for-longer’ rates dent the recovery?
-
Nvidia earnings: what to expectNvidia announces earnings after market close on 20 November. What should investors expect from the semiconductor giant?
-
31 August 1957: the Federation of Malaya declares independence from the UKFeatures On this day in 1957, after ten years of preparation, the Federation of Malaya became an independent nation.
-
13 April 1960: the first satellite navigation system is launchedFeatures On this day in 1960, Nasa sent the Transit 1B satellite into orbit to provide positioning for the US Navy’s fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines.
-
9 April 1838: National Gallery opens in Trafalgar Square
Features On this day in 1838, William Wilkins’ new National Gallery building in Trafalgar Square opened to the public.
-
3 March 1962: British Antarctic Territory is created
Features On this day in 1962, Britain formed the British Antarctic Territory administered from the Falkland Islands.
-
10 March 2000: the dotcom bubble peaks
Features Tech mania fanned by the dawning of the internet age inflated the dotcom bubble to maximum extent, on this day in 2000.
-
9 March 1776: Adam Smith publishes 'The Wealth of Nations'
Features On this day in 1776, Adam Smith, the “father of modern economics”, published his hugely influential book The Wealth of Nations.
-
8 March 1817: the New York Stock Exchange is formed
Features On this day in 1817, a group of brokers moved out of a New York coffee house to form what would become the biggest stock exchange in the world.
-
7 March 1969: Queen Elizabeth II officially opens the Victoria Line
Features On this day in 1969, Queen Elizabeth II took only her second trip on the tube to officially open the underground’s newest line – the Victoria Line.
