The world marks 50 years since the Apollo 11 Moon landing

The world marked the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing this year, commemorating half a century since humans first set foot on another world, in a celebration that rekindled wonder at one of the greatest achievements in human history and renewed ambitions for a return to the Moon and beyond.

In the summer of 1969, two American astronauts descended to the lunar surface while a third orbited above, in a mission watched by an estimated several hundred million people around the world, the culmination of an extraordinary national effort and a defining moment of the 20th century.

The anniversary was observed with exhibitions, documentaries, books and events celebrating the mission and the vast enterprise that made it possible, involving hundreds of thousands of engineers, scientists and workers, and representing a triumph of human ingenuity, organisation and daring.

The commemorations also prompted reflection on the decades since, during which no human had returned to the Moon, even as robotic exploration of the solar system flourished. The anniversary came amid renewed interest in lunar exploration, with space agencies and private companies setting their sights on returning astronauts to the Moon.

For those old enough to remember, the landing remained a vivid and emotional memory, a moment of shared awe that transcended borders. For younger generations, the anniversary offered an opportunity to appreciate the scale and significance of the achievement and the spirit of exploration it embodied.

The Moon landing had demonstrated what humanity could accomplish when it set its mind to a great goal, and its anniversary served as both a celebration of the past and an inspiration for the future. As plans advanced for new journeys to the Moon and eventually to Mars, the legacy of Apollo 11 endured as a reminder of the boundless human drive to explore, and of a moment when the whole world looked up in wonder.