48 Years Ago Today...

On July 20, 1969, at precisely 8:18 PM UTC (12:18 PM PDT), Mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the lunar module Eagle on the surface of the moon. six hours later, at 02:56:15 UTC, Armstrong became the first human to step out onto the surface, joined by Aldrin 20 minutes later.

After more than 21½ total hours on the lunar surface performing various scientific tests and experiments, and collecting 47.5 pounds (21.55 kilograms) of "moon rocks," the pair successfully lifted off of the Moon's surface to rendezvous with the Command Module for the return to Earth.

HOWEVER, there was a contingency plan.

President Nixon's speech writer William Safire had prepared a speech entitled In Event of Moon Disaster for the President to read on television in the event the Apollo 11 astronauts were stranded on the Moon. Safire also suggested a protocol the administration might follow in reaction to such a disaster. According to that plan, Mission Control would "close down communications" with the LM, and a clergyman would "commend their souls to the deepest of the deep" in a public ritual likened to burial at sea.