Nixon had a backup speech ready if Apollo 11 astronauts died on the Moon

A draft speech prepared for President Richard Nixon in the event that the Apollo 11 astronauts failed to return from the Moon remains stored in the US National Archives. The document was written as a contingency in case Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were stranded or killed on the lunar surface in July 1969. It serves as a haunting reminder of the enormous risk taken during the historic mission.