COCOA BEACH, Fla. — Residents of Cocoa Beach lined the streets to celebrate America's space program, and its historic moon landing.

Thirteen former astronauts rode in corvettes, mirroring the celebration that happened 50 years ago.

Also joining the festivities was the families of some of these astronauts.

Jan Aldrin, daughter of astronaut Buzz Aldrin, says she still remembers the moment she saw her father stepped onto the moon. She was only 11.

“It was so thrilling and exciting,” Aldrin. “We got to stay up late, so that was really exciting. It was uncanny.”

“I grew up with the space program so I never had a sense anything could go wrong,” Aldrin added.

When her father arrived home, she asked the question the world wanted to know.

“When he got back, he walked through the front door after he was released from quarantine and I said, 'Dad what was it like?' and he said 'dusty',” she recalled.

Former astronaut Scott “Scooter” Altman believes the mission is still changing the course of history.

“We’re also looking forward 50 years with what we’re doing to be back on the moon and be on Mars,” Altman said.

Meanwhile, in the crowd aspiring astronauts watched their heroes ride by in awe. 

"It's just something about exploring space and finding new opportunities for humankind," said Dayton Bush of Deltona.

Patty Dykstra of Cape Canaveral, who said she grew up on the Space Coast, called it a day to relive special memories from NASA's earliest days.

"You could hear the windows rattling, everyone's windows rattling," she said, talking about launch days in those early years.

On Sunday, about 600 NASA workers will gather at Kennedy Space Center for the Apollo 11 anniversary workers reunion.

This entire week there will be events celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.