That same exhiliration is what we felt sitting in that room at NASA where the fateful mission was controlled and from where so many of humans' first great adventures into space have been orchestrated.
It's the same room where NASA staff received confirmation as Eagle touched down on the moon's surface in July 1969 and where Neil Armstrong's famous words first crackled through a speaker.
It's no wonder the room is now a National Historic Site, but far from the building being a relic, the floor just below this one houses NASA's new Mission Control, currently directing astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS).
The tram tour that takes you from Houston Space Center (NASA's visitor centre) to this and other historic areas is perhaps the highlight for any adult visiting the Center.
We were in awe walking through the massive warehouse that houses a Saturn V rocket and all of its stages; just imagining the raw power it would have unleashed when launched steals your breath for a moment.
Add to this a tour of the very facility where yesterday's and today's astronauts train in life-size copies of space modules and where engineers experiment with equipment, trying to replicate frictionless (if not zero gravity) environments, and you've got a pretty powerful tour right there.
The kids however were in heaven at the Space Center itself where Angry Birds Space rule an entire quadrant.
If you're familiar with Angry Birds Space you'll know that the game links to videos featuring NASA astronauts explaining concepts such as gravity and trajectory.
This kids' play area tries to bring space science to life and includes a robotic docking control unit and two mars rovers that kids can remotely control from a level above.
There are a lot of exhibits to take in and so we ended up spending an entire day at the Center.
I was lucky enough to sit in on a presentation from a former astronaut, a payload specialist from a shuttle mission in the 80s, who was a guest presenter on the day.
We watched movies galore, touched a moon rock, admired mission patches, climbed through parts of a space shuttle and learnt how astronauts go to the toilet in space and why they prefer spicy food.
Learning about the International Space Station was particularly cool. It orbits the Earth 16 times a day and is the size of two football fields.
At any one time it's home to six astronauts from its partner countries, but a staff changeover was happening during our visit and so at that moment it was home to nine (along with the Olympic torch which was visiting space for the first time before being carried home again after the three-day 'shift change').
Visit NASA's Spot the Station website to find out when to look up (it's the third brightest thing in the sky!)
The Orion Project, which is focusing on Mars and all that the red planet might offer science, is where the American space program is now headed.
It was captivating to learn more about where humans hope to venture next.
All very exciting stuff!
