On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 mission, led by astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, landed on the moon. Six hours and 39 minutes later, Armstrong became the first man to walk on the lunar surface in an event broadcast live around the world, during which he famously declared, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
The Moon landing was part of the third human space flight program - 'Project Apollo' - led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) agency to meet a national goal established by the 35th US President John. F. Kennedy announced that "before the end of this decade, we will land a man on the moon and return him to Earth."
The Apollo program carried out five more spaceflights until December 1972, bringing a total of 32 astronauts to the Moon, 12 of whom walked on the surface. These three men were Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr., who made the Apollo 12 mission, the second spaceflight that landed men on the moon on November 14, 1969, Richard F. Gordon Jr. and Alan L. Bean.
And on one day in March 1970, these three men set foot on Ceylon soil as part of a 20-nation goodwill tour to celebrate the successful journey to the moon and back.
....
Ceylon Daily Mirror (March 13, 1970) front page announcing the arrival of the Apollo 12 astronauts in Ceylon.
in Sri Lanka
Conrad Jr., Gordon Jr., Bean and their wives landed at Katunayake Airport on Friday, March 13, 1970, at 3:15 pm on a plane reserved for the President of the United States, and were received by the then Minister of State JR Jayawardene, the US Ambassador Andrew. Cory, Colombo Mayor Vincent Perera, and a choir of 5,000 schoolgirls sang the Jayamangala Gathas (a set of eight stanzas extolling the virtues of the Lord) and blessed them.
Premil Ratnayake, writing for the Ceylon Daily News, reported that upon arrival, Bean, described as "the funniest of the three", "raised his hands and greeted the crowd with an enthusiastic 'hi!'" as he exited the plane. The crowd responded with equally enthusiastic cheers.
The event was "very historic for Sri Lanka in our time," Sri Lanka Daily Mirror reported that it was the most spectacular feat to be able to see the rare heroes who landed a man on the moon.
Among the photos..
The three astronauts in a parade of open Cadillacs waved to the crowd that had gathered to see them.
From the airport, the astronauts traveled in an open motorcade to Colombo, and along the way crowds gathered to see them, waving American flags and chanting Jayashree (salute). The motorcade was punctuated by stops, the most significant of which was the public reception at Sugathadasa Stadium, outside which a lunar module made of 'gokkola' (young coconut fronds) was erected.
Among the photos..
Astronauts and their wives in front of a 'Gokkola' model of their lunar module built by BR Piyadasa and KG Somapala at a public reception at Sugathadasa Stadium.
....
After arriving in Colombo, the astronauts and their wives proceeded to the Galle Gateway Hotel where they were to stay. Mr. Lalit Rodrigu, the director who recently started working at the hotel, recalled, "I remember the Cadillac parade coming down the road at the Galle entrance. The streets were packed with people and everyone was cheering. It was quite a sight.”
Later, after meeting and greeting the Governor General Mr. William Gopalawa at the Queen's House (now the President's House), the 'Sandah Mendi' were taken to the Araliyagaha Mandir, the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. Met several politicians including Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake. The Ceylon Daily News reported that Social Services Minister Ashoka Karunaratne welcomed the astronauts to "this sunny land" and asked what it was like on the moon—to which Bean replied, "It's beautiful there, too." Konrad Junior had also sarcastically said that this was not the first time he had seen Sri Lanka. "I saw the island from space on the Gemini V mission, and it was the most beautiful view on that flight," he said.
It was also here that the three astronauts gave Sri Lanka a precious gift: four particles of 'moon dust' from moon rocks collected during the Apollo 11 maiden landing. Each particle weighed approximately 0.05 mg. They were a gift from US President Richard Nixon. The moon rocks, which are currently housed in the National Museum of Natural History in Colombo, can only be viewed on special occasions.
The station in Ceylon was to be held aloft for three days, during which the astronauts were also scheduled to arrive in Kandy.
In Kandy, the astronauts and their wives visited the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, where they planted a Nance (Byrsonima crassifolia) tree in the 'Memorial Tree Section' to mark the occasion of their visit. They also visited Dalada Maligava (Dalada Maligava) where they offered flowers.
Among the photos..
Apollo 12 astronauts in front of Dalada Maliga (Dalada Palace) in Kandy, where they offered flowers.
...
Bean told the Ceylon Daily Mirror reporter who was accompanying them on the train to Kandy, “We have so far
