A 1920 New York Times editorial mocked rocket scientist Robert Goddard’s idea of a rocket to the moon as the “absurd” notion of a person who “seems to lack the knowledge ladled out daily in high schools.”

Regrettably, it wasn’t the last time the Times got a story “wrong.” It issued a correction 49 years later, as Apollo 11 was enroute to the moon.

Time your listening experience of the re-broadcast of the Apollo 11 audio to re-live the events as they unfolded 40 years ago … (Update: The NASA audio feed is spotty. Even better is the We Choose the Moon site.)

1:46 p.m. (EDT) - The landing craft is separated from the command module, in which Collins continues to orbit the Moon.

2:12 p.m.- Collins fires the command ship’s rockets and moves about two miles away.

3:08 p.m.- Armstrong and Aldrin, flying feet first and face down, fire the landing craft’s descent engine for the first time.

3:47 p.m.- Collins, flying the command ship from behind the Moon, reports to Earth that the landing craft is on its way down to the lunar surface. It is the first Mission Control has heard of the action. “Everything’s going just swimmingly. Beautiful!” Collins reports.

4:05 p.m.- Armstrong throttles up the engine to slow the LM before dropping down on the lunar surface. The landing is not easy. The site they approach is four miles from the target point, on the southwestern edge of the Sea of Tranquility. Seeing that they are approaching a crater about the size of a football field and covered with large rocks, Armstrong takes over manual control and steers the craft to a smoother spot. His heartbeat has risen from a normal 77 to 156.

While Armstrong flies the landing craft, Aldrin gives him altitude readings: “Seven hundred and fifty feet, coming down at 23 degrees . . . 700 feet, 21 down . . . 400 feet, down at nine . . . Got the shadow out there . . . 75 feet, things looking good . . . Lights on . . . Picking up some dust. . . 30 feet, 2 1/2 down . . . Faint shadow . . . Four forward. Four forward, drifting to the right a little . . . Contact light. Okay, engine stop.” …

10:39 p.m.- Later than proposed at 6:00 p.m., but more than five hours ahead of the original schedule, Armstrong opens the LM hatch and squeezes through the opening. It is a slow process. Strapped to his shoulders is a portable life support and communications system weighing 84 pounds on Earth, 14 on the Moon, with provision for pressurization; oxygen requirements and removal of carbon dioxide.

Armstrong moves slowly down the 10-foot, nine-step ladder. On reaching the second step, he pulls a “D-ring,” within easy reach, deploying a television camera, so arranged on the LM that it will depict him to Earth as he proceeds from that point. …

Other activities:

• Google moon.
• Video of the first steps on the moon.
• An interactive panorama view of the lunar surface.
• Apollo 11 onboard audio database.
• Walter Cronkite remembers the Apollo 11 mission.
• The New York Times interactive Mission to the Moon feature.
• The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter achieved lunar orbit in June and recently captured images of Apollo sites and the footpaths of astronauts in the lunar dust.
• The interior of the Lunar Module.
• A closer look at the controls inside the Lunar Module.
• Great high def photos on the Boston Globe site.
• And yes, of course, Alan Shepard swinging a six iron on the moon!
• The Project Apollo Archive Image Gallery.