A picture in time: Australia’s part in the moon landing

The radio telescope at Honeysuckle Creek near Canberra transmitted the first images of Neil Armstrong on the moon

When the lunar module of Apollo 11 landed on the moon and astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped on to its surface for the first time, millions of people around the world watched the images live on television.

Nasa had five tracking stations around the world to record that moment and monitor the mission. The main station was at Goldstone in California, and Spain had one near Madrid. Australia had three: radio telescopes at Honeysuckle Creek and Parkes, and a deep space tracking station at Tidbinbilla.