Vice President Mike Pence marks Apollo 11 anniversary at launch site

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Vice President Mike Pence is marking the 50th anniversary of humanity's first moon landing at the Apollo 11 launch site.

Moonwalker Buzz Aldrin accompanied Pence to Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Saturday and showed him the pad where he began that momentous journey 50 years ago. Aldrin later got a standing ovation during a speech by Pence.

Mission commander Neil Armstrong, the first man to step onto the moon on July 20, 1969, died seven years ago. Command module pilot Michael Collins did not attend the Florida celebration.

Pence says Apollo 11 is the only event of the 20th century that "stands a chance of being widely remembered in the 30th century." The vice president reiterated the Trump administration's push to put Americans back on the moon by 2024.