A generation of Americans has come of age with an image burnished forever in their memories: A grainy, black-and-white TV shot of a shadowy man climbing down a ladder on the night of Sunday, July 20, 1969.

When he reached the bottom, Neil Armstrong's words became the most celebrated quotation of modern times: "That's one small step for man ... one giant leap for mankind."

On that night 40 years ago, men landed and walked on the moon for the first time.

The ultimate achievement in science, technology and exploration was seen by some 500 million people worldwide, the largest shared event in world history at the time.

Beginning Thursday, The Times launches a nine-day multimedia series, "One Small Step, One Giant Leap," in print and online, that looks back at the Apollo 11 mission through the eyes of Northeast Georgians who witnessed the event and some who actually took part.

You'll meet local residents who were involved in early rocket technology, NASA launch control, lunar module engineering and Navy retrieval after the splashdown. We'll talk to a former astronaut from Gainesville and a current one as well on the space program's future goals. We'll offer a first-person view from a native of Armstrong's hometown in Ohio and profile "moon babies" born during the mission. We'll look at the event from the media's perspective then and now and discuss its historic significance.

On each day that spanned the mission, we'll summarize what the astronauts were doing that day along with other news headlines from Times archives. And through it all, we'll include memories of local residents.

On Sunday, July 19, we'll provide expanded coverage in print plus a special online page dedicated to the moonwalk with video, photos, links and an interactive Apollo quiz.

The Times is available at retail outlets and news racks throughout Northeast Georgia. To have The Times delivered to your home, click here or call 770-532-2222.