Celebrating a historic event

Australia has commemorated 50 years of the first man landing on the moon with the release of four colourful stamps. The stamps, each valued at A$ 1, are part of several products released on the historic event.

Fifty years ago, at 12:56 p.m. on 21 July 1969 (AEST), an estimated 600 million people worldwide watched American astronaut Neil Armstrong become the first person in history to step on to the surface of the moon. As he alighted from lunar module ‘Eagle,’ Armstrong uttered the now-immortal words, “That’s one small step for (a) man; one giant leap for mankind”, the stamp bulletin states in describing the event. 

The description continues: Armstrong was accompanied in the ‘Eagle’ by pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, who joined him on the Moon’s surface some 20 minutes later, while Michael Collins piloted the command module ‘Columbia’ in lunar orbit. After 21 hours 36 minutes on the lunar surface, the lunar module docked with the orbiting command module and Armstrong and Aldrin returned to ‘Columbia’. 

Recording that Australia played a crucial role in telecasting the historic event to television sets, the bulletin copy reminds how the actual moments of Armstrong stepping onto the lunar surface were carried via the Honeysuckle Creek tracking station (ACT). After the first nine minutes the Parkes radio telescope (NSW) transmitted the rest of the broadcast. The NASA tracking stations at Carnarvon (WA) and Tidbinbilla (ACT) also supported the mission. 

In addition to a special stamp pack including 24 stamps and details of the Lunar Mission Flight Path, Australia Post released a roll of 100 stamps, booklets and maxcards. The Perth Mint and Royal Australian Mint issued special coins. Two Medallion Covers were also made available.  Looking back, Sri Lanka released four stamps on 10 November 1989 to mark the 25th anniversary of the first moon landing. The stamps depicted the launching pad and the three astronauts (75 cts), Neil Armstrong stepping on to the moon surface (Re. 1), Armstrong walking on the moon (Rs. 2) and a scene of the earth from the moon (Rs. 5/75). The stamps were designed by K Sanath Rohana Wickremasinghe.  In addition to the customary first day cover a miniature sheet with the four stamps was also issued.