Who took the famous Apollo 11 photo of Buzz Aldrin standing on the Moon?

Neil Armstrong took the famous Apollo 11 photograph of Buzz Aldrin standing on the Moon. The image was made during Apollo 11’s lunar excursion on July 20, 1969, at the Sea of Tranquility.

Armstrong used a modified 70mm Hasselblad lunar-surface camera. Aldrin’s reflective visor shows Armstrong, the lunar module Eagle, and parts of the surrounding landscape, making the photograph a remarkable visual record of both astronauts even though only Aldrin is clearly visible.

A common mix-up is that Aldrin appears in most of the best-known Apollo 11 surface photographs, while Armstrong appears in very few. That was largely because one astronaut had to operate the camera while the other performed tasks. Aldrin did take important photographs too, including the famous image of Armstrong reflected in his visor and photographs of the lunar surface and equipment.

The crew also included Michael Collins, who remained in lunar orbit aboard the command module Columbia. Collins did not take the surface photograph, and neither Pete Conrad nor Alan Bean was part of Apollo 11; both later flew on Apollo 12.