Apollo 11: Catching Some Sun

Bright sunlight glints and long dark shadows mark this image of the lunar surface . It was taken July 20, 1969 by Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong , the first to walk on the Moon . Pictured is the mission's lunar module, the Eagle, and spacesuited lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin unfurling a long sheet of foil also known as the Solar Wind Composition Experiment . Exposed facing the Sun, the foil trapped particles streaming outward in the solar wind, catching a sample of material from the Sun itself. Along with moon rocks and lunar soil samples, the solar wind collector was returned for analysis in earthbound laboratories .