Watch: NASA zooms in on Neil Armstrong's footprints 50 years after he walked on Moon

July 20, 1961, astronaut Neil Armstrong, spacecraft commander of Apollo 11 had set foot on the Moon. (Image credit: NASA)

To mark International Moon Day on July 20, NASA shared a visual of Neil Armstrong's footprints on the Moon. The astronaut was the first man to walk on it 50 years ago.

The video, taken by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, zooms in on the Moon to focus on Armstrong's footprints. "Today marks the anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing – the first time that humans stepped on the surface of another world. This video from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the astronauts' tracks, still there after all this time," NASA stated.

It’s #InternationalMoonDay! Today marks the anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing – the first time that humans stepped on the surface of another world. This video from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the astronauts' tracks, still there after all this time. pic.twitter.com/LVDkFeEcYP

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— NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) July 20, 2022

Elaborating on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter which recorded the video, NASA stated that it has been exploring the Moon since 2009. "It has returned more data to Earth of any other planetary mission – nearly 1.4 petabytes! For perspective, that’s about half a million hours of movies," the space agency stated.

Recollecting the day 50 years ago when Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon, NASA wrote in its blog, "In a harrowing descent marked by program alarms from an overloaded computer and freezing fuel lines, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in Apollo 11 safely landed in Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility) on July 20, 1969. They walked on the moon for over 2 hours, collecting rocks and soil and laying out experiment packages."

Read more: Buzz Aldrin’s moon landing jacket expected to fetch $2 million in auction

Apollo 11 is the most well-known, but prior missions paved the way. Robotic explorers like Ranger & Surveyor allowed NASA to test traveling to and landing on the Moon. Crewed missions like Apollo 8, 9, and 10 tested entering and exiting lunar orbit, the space agency added.

Announcing its future Moon mission plans, NASA tweeted that it is in the midst of preparing a return to the lunar surface.

NASA is in the midst of preparing a return to the lunar surface. Missions like Artemis I and CAPSTONE will act as pathfinders, testing elements of the overall plan before a human return to the Moon. https://t.co/aPAH0cGpvD

— NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) July 20, 2022

"We're planning our Artemis missions with 50 years worth of lunar knowledge. Since Apollo ended in the early ‘70s, a series of robotic orbiters have explored the Moon," it added.

Read more: 'Most terrifying space photo': Astronaut floats away from space shuttle untethered