The event began with a live phone-in program at Gyan Vani Radio with senior scientist R M Pandya from the ISRO Space Application Centre taking calls on how the moon could be mankind's next habitat.

Retired ISRO scientist C M Nagarani, whose latest contribution was in the development of the Cartosat 2B satellite, explained students with the help of slide-shows the build up of Saturn 5, the three-stage rocket that powered the Apollo 11 mission.

There were also screenings of films such as Target Moon, Indian Moon Mission, Chandrayaan-I, a 3D screening of Walking on the Moon at the iMax theatre in

the Science City campus along with exhibits concerning the landing.

Retired Inspector General of Police K R Bhatt , a 28-year-old probationary officer with Gujarat Police at Bhavnagar in 1969, said: “I stayed awake all night listening to the All India Radio (AIR) transmission of the communication coming from the moon. The most exciting thing I remember about that night was the long silence when astronauts were on the dark side of the moon and radio signals couldn't reach the Earth. We were all holding our breaths and wondering 'Are they ok? Will they come back?' when the signal started crackling again as they emerged from the shadows.”