On this date in 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human being to step on another celestial body (see the photo), a few hours after the Apollo 11 Lunar Excursion Module landed on the Moon. Buzz Aldrin followed him out the door and onto the regolith, and they stayed a few hours.

Three and a half years later, Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt, aboard Apollo 17, became the last men (to date) to walk on the Moon. It’s been nearly 44 years since people have been more than 300 miles from the surface of the Earth. It’s time….