International Moon Day 2025: History, Theme, And Significance
International Moon Day celebrates humanity's accomplishments in space, its prospects, and the universalism that binds us all together under the moon.
News18
The world will once again look up to the sky to celebrate International Moon Day on July 20 this year. The United Nations established the occasion in December 2021 to commemorate the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 and to encourage further lunar exploration. The Moon Village Association (MVA)—a Vienna-based NGO that aims to unite engineers, scientists, private and public investors, and other stakeholders to construct a shared infrastructure on the Moon—helped the event gain international recognition. This year's International Moon Day Main Event will be hosted by the University of Dubai in association with MVA.
International Moon Day 2025 will be centered around 'One Moon, One Vision, One Future." The idea behind the event was to educate the public on how important a sustainable approach to lunar exploration is. The first International Moon Day was marked on July 20, 2022.
International Moon Day History
Apollo 11 Moon Landing:
President John F Kennedy set a national goal to send a man to the moon by the end of the 1960s, and the Apollo 11 mission was launched eight years later. The world watched as Apollo 11, carrying three men, took out from the Kennedy Space Centre on July 16, 1969. The spacecraft reached lunar orbit on July 19, three days later.
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969, while Michael Collins stayed in lunar orbit in the command module.
The following day, Armstrong and Aldrin's lunar module, Eagle, separated from the main command module. Armstrong sent the iconic radio transmission, 'The Eagle has landed," to Mission Control in Houston, Texas, as soon as Eagle touched down on the moon.
In 2021, the UN General Assembly officially declared July 20 as the International Moon Day following the recommendation from the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).
International Moon Day Significance
The goal of this day is to celebrate the successes of lunar exploration. The primary objective of this occasion is to promote the remembrance of the first arrival of human beings on the surface of the Moon. International Moon Day offers a chance to highlight sustainable lunar exploration.
The day promotes peaceful global collaboration in space exploration and the efficient use of space for the good of all people. International Moon Day's events and educational activities are designed to encourage young people to choose careers in mathematics, science, technology, and engineering.
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