Albany, NY – In honor of the fifty year anniversary of the moon landing, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz sponsored a resolution in the New York State Assembly to honor this historic achievement. On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 Project successfully landed two people on the moon after an intensive nationwide effort to achieve this momentous scientific goal.

The Assembly resolution was supported by a bipartisan coalition of 61 Assemblymembers, led by Dinowitz. The resolution notes that the moon landing resulted from a challenge issued by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 in response to the Soviet Union launching the first artificial satellite into space as well as the first person in space. Kennedy declared “this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.”

Three astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, began the Apollo 11 mission on July 16, 1969 before the ultimate stage of landing the lunar module Eagle on the moon’s surface on July 20. Moonwalkers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left behind an American flag, pictures of human beings, recordings of a variety of languages, a patch honoring fallen crew from Apollo 1, and a plaque reading “here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.” The crew traveled 240,000 miles from the Earth to the moon in 76 hours.

The resolution goes on to note that the documentary Apollo 11, which debuted at Sundance, was partially produced at a shop in New York City, a partnering post production shop is located in New York, and the $5 commemorative coin will be produced in New York.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (D – Bronx) said: “As a child, I distinctly remember the awestruck inspiration I felt as I watched two American astronauts become the first people to ever walk on the moon’s surface. It was incredible as our country was unified behind this incredible scientific effort, and we felt like we could accomplish anything we set our minds to. With less computing power than a modern cellphone, we were able to send three human beings into space, land two of them on the moon, and return them all home safely. This is the mentality that we need to have again, as we explore solutions to climate change and other immense challenges that face our society.”