Today marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon – truly an incredible moment in human history. To celebrate that occasion, let us tell that story through sound.

First, the original field recording from NASA – here are the facts:

On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 crew successfully completed the national goal set by President John F. Kennedy eight years prior: to perform a crewed lunar landing and return to Earth.

Crew: Neil Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Michael Collins

Launch: July 16, 1969; 9:32 a.m. EST

Landing: July 24, 1969; 12:50 p.m. EST

City version:

Next, the reimagined sound by Sherman and Field.

“This project captures the story leading up to the Apollo 11 lift-off, featuring the Cities and Memory original NASA recording of the launch on July 16 1969.

“A field recording of National Geographic’s “Sounds of the Space Age – from Sputnik to lunar landing” was captured via mobile phone as the record played in our lounge room.

“The piece, released in December 1969 and narrated by astronaut Colonel Frank Borman, was placed in front of the Apollo 11 lift-off recording.

“Accompanying the recordings is a section of improvised beats and sound manipulations from various devices. This was recorded late one night in a Northern New South Wales barn under a starlit country sky…”

Memory version: