Astronaut Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin poses next to the U.S. flag on the moon
July 20, 1969 — Apollo 11's iconic mission patch is an eagle landing on the moon holding an olive branch in its talons. Originally, the branch wasn't part of the image, but designers decided the bird looked too aggressive, as if it were going to gouge a divot out of the moon. Such pointillistic planning defined every step of the success that was the first lunar landing. Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins and Buzz Aldrin knew they were lucky to be getting this shot at all. If Apollos 7, 8, 9 and 10 hadn't gone all but perfectly, Apollo 11 would have been just another dry run. But the historical tumblers fell in such a way that the opportunity opened to them, and the three men proved up to the job. Historians still quibble over whether Armstrong's famed first words were overly scripted or even properly delivered. Insiders tut-tutted over the unseemly catfight between Aldrin and Armstrong about who would step down first. All that was white noise. Boots were on the ground — otherworldly ground —and the lunar race was won.