From left: Armstrong, Aldrin, Cernan and Cunningham at the Kennedy Space Center news conference Friday
IN-DEPTH SPECIAL: Apollo 11 at 30  ALSO: Tranquillity base +30  INTERACTIVE: The Space Race RELATED VIDEO CNN's Miles O'Brien interviews Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Charles Feldman reports Apollo 11's journey had many looking to the sky, temporarily forgetting their earthly woes Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Miles O'Brien talks with former astronaut Wally Schirra Windows Media 28K 80K Use the arrow buttons below to watch the news conference featuring Armstrong, other Apollo astronauts.        Windows Media Real        28 K 80 K

July 16, 1999
Web posted at: 10:41 p.m. EDT (0241 GMT)

In this story: Astronauts: We would go back to space Fear to 'take chance' hamstrings exploration 1969 mission riveted world Ground broken on U.S. space monument RELATED STORIES, SITES

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (CNN) -- On the 30th anniversary of the rocket shot that propelled mankind toward its first rendezvous with the moon, a small constellation of Apollo astronauts, including Neil Armstrong, gathered Friday to celebrate one of the 20th century's grand achievements.

"The important achievement of Apollo was demonstrating that humanity is not forever chained to this planet," said Armstrong, who became the first man to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969 during the Apollo 11 mission. "Our visions go rather further than that and our opportunities are unlimited."

Armstrong joined three other astronauts for a news conference at the Kennedy Space Center Friday. Intensely private, Armstrong has shunned the limelight since his "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," rarely making public appearances.

Asked if he ever regretted his part of the history-making mission because it thrust him into the public spotlight, Armstrong answered, "Never." But he also said he doesn't dwell on his status as the first human on the moon.

"I was delighted to be in that project ... but I don't think about it on a day-to-day basis -- probably only when you guys (in the media) remind me," Armstrong said.

Astronauts: We would go back to space

The news conference also included Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, who stepped on the lunar surface minutes after Armstrong; Apollo 7 astronaut Walter Cunningham, who orbited the Earth; and the last man to walk on the moon, Gene Cernan, who took the final footsteps as part of the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

"What I remember perhaps most is starting up that ladder and looking over my shoulder and looking at those footprints down there and realizing that they were really mine and that there weren't going to be any (more) for a long time to come," said Cernan, who lamented that manned lunar missions were discontinued.

All four astronauts said they would be willing to go back into space again, if given the opportunity.

"I would savor the moments a lot more this time. I would probably work less and enjoy it more," said Cunningham.

Aldrin said going to the moon affected the lives of all of the Apollo astronauts to some degree.

Armstrong says the moon landing showed that 'our opportunities are unlimited'

"Certainly, you can't participate in such a momentous program and not have the reminders of it have an effect on your life," Aldrin said. "What a wonderful gift for a person to receive."

Fear to 'take chance' hamstrings exploration

At the same time, the astronauts expressed regret that the push for manned space flight has faded in the years since Apollo -- that children today are learning about space travel in history class, rather than science class.

"Today, we fail not because (of) our inability to do something, we fail today because of our unwillingness to tackle it in the first place," Cunningham said. "We are unwilling to take a chance, stick our neck out and go and do some of these things."

Armstrong said he believes "it will take public will" before NASA can pursue the quest to send a crew to Mars.

Apollo 11 blasted off July 16, 1969

"If that's there, I believe that technology will probably step up to their part of it," Armstrong said.

He also said he believes "there's a compelling reason for society to go back to the moon."

"That case will not be made by me or any of us here, actually. It's being made by scientists and technologists around the world who are developing increasingly better reasons to go back," he said.

Asked if he was disappointed that no one has gone back to the moon, he said, "Yeah, I left a few things up there."

1969 mission riveted world

At 9:32 a.m. on Wednesday, July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center, landing on the moon four days later. On board with Armstrong and Aldrin was Michael Collins, who piloted the command module while his comrades used a landing craft, the Eagle, to visit the surface.

One million people crowded roads and beaches in the area to witness the historic launch, which was the fulfillment of a dream outlined by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 -- to send a man to the moon and bring him home safely.

The Apollo 11 crew, from left: Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin

In an era when America was wracked by social protest and divided over the Vietnam War, the mission was a unifying event. People across the country, and around the world, sat glued to television sets as the Apollo crew did what was once thought impossible.

When he landed on the moon, Armstrong uttered his famous words: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Ever since, there has been debate about whether he put an "a" between the words "for" and "man" which was lost during the transmission back to earth.

Armstrong said Friday that he only decided what to say once he landed, and he himself isn't 100 percent sure.

"The 'a' was intended. I thought I said it. I can't hear it when I listen on the radio reception here on earth, so I'll be happy if you just put it in parenthesis," he said.

Armstrong said that at the time of the mission, he believed there was about a 90 percent chance that the crew would return safely and a 50 percent chance that it would actually make the moon landing as planned.

Ground broken on U.S. space monument

On Friday, in nearby Titusville, Cernan and Apollo 7 astronaut Wally Schirra joined about 200 people -- many of whom had worked on Apollo and the Mercury and Gemini programs that preceded it -- for the groundbreaking of a monument honoring America's space flight triumph. The groundbreaking was set to coincide with the Apollo 11's launch time.

Armstrong and Aldrin plant the U.S. flag on the lunar surface July 20, 1969

"It was probably the greatest singular human endeavor, certainly in modern times, maybe in the history of all mankind," Cernan said.

The Apollo monument, scheduled for dedication in July 2000, is a bronze depiction of the various stages of the Apollo program, surrounding a bust of Kennedy. Organizers are trying to collect the names of some 400,000 people who worked in the U.S. space program to etch them on granite blocks in the monument.

NASA and civic groups up and down Florida's Space Coast have planned four days of festivities leading up to the anniversary of the moon landing on Tuesday, including a dinner Friday night to reunite the launch teams who worked together to put the Apollo rockets into space.

To commemorate the landing, NASA will launch the space shuttle Columbia on Tuesday. In charge of the craft will be Eileen Collins, marking the first time that a woman has commanded a space shuttle flight.

Correspondents Miles O'Brien, John Zarrella,The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report, written by Richard Shumate.