Apollo 11 Moon Landing – 55 Years Ago Today

Posted by Guy Pirro 07/20/2024 03:37PM

55 years ago today, on July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon in the lunar module “Eagle.” “Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed.” “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” -- Phrases that recall humanity’s first landing on the lunar surface. On that day, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, as a team, completed humanity’s first landing on the Moon and they fulfilled President John F. Kennedy’s national goal, set in May 1962, to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth before the end of the decade. For many of us, that adventure is as fresh in our memories today, 55 years later, as if it happened just yesterday. (Image Credit: NASA)

Apollo 11 Moon Landing – 55 Years Ago Today

In 1962, U.S. President John F. Kennedy had a challenge for NASA. The challenge was to land a man on the Moon before the end of the decade. The race to meet his goal would require some of the greatest technological achievements the world had ever seen.

The first Apollo missions were spent getting ready for the Moon landing. Apollo 8 and Apollo 10, for example, flew all the way to the Moon, around it, and back to Earth. Finally, everything was ready.

On July 16, 1969, the huge Saturn V rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying astronauts Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin on their historic mission. The Apollo spacecraft reached Earth parking orbit after 11 minutes. After one and a half orbits, the thrusters fired and the astronauts began their journey to the Moon. The three traveled to the Moon and arrived in lunar orbit on July 20.

The Lunar Excursion Module "Eagle," carrying Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, separated from the Command Module "Columbia" and made its way to the lunar surface.

"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."

Immediately after landing on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin prepared the LEM for liftoff as a contingency measure. Following a meal, a scheduled sleep period was postponed at the astronauts' request, and the astronauts began preparations for descent to the lunar surface.

Astronaut Armstrong emerged from the spacecraft first. While descending, he released the Modularized Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA) on which the surface television camera was stowed, and the camera recorded humankind's first step on the Moon.

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

A sample of lunar surface material was collected and stowed to assure that, if a contingency required an early end to the planned surface activities, samples of lunar surface material would be returned to Earth. Astronaut Aldrin subsequently descended to the lunar surface.

As he left the LEM, Aldrin said, "Now I want to partially close the hatch, making sure not to lock it on my way out."

"A good thought." replied Armstrong.

The two astronauts spent 21 hours on the moon. They did experiments and took pictures. They also brought back 46 pounds of Moon rocks.

The footprints left by the astronauts in the Sea of Tranquility are more permanent than many solid structures on Earth. Assuming that the footprints did not get blown away upon liftoff from the Moon surface and barring a chance meteorite impact, these impressions in the lunar soil will probably last for millions of years.

After their stay on the moon, the astronauts blasted off in the top part of the lunar lander. They docked with "Columbia," the Command Module. All three astronauts then rode back to the Earth in Columbia.

They splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969, about 812 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii and were picked-up by the aircraft carrier USS Hornet.

The Apollo 11 mission’s main goal was to perform a crewed lunar landing and return to Earth. The crew also conducted scientific exploration of the Moon’s surface and deployed a television camera to transmit signals to Earth. Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21 hours and 36 minutes on the Moon. They explored the surface, took extensive photographs of the lunar terrain and each other, and collected lunar surface samples.

The two moonwalkers left behind commemorative medallions bearing the names of the three Apollo 1 astronauts who lost their lives in a launch pad fire, and two cosmonauts who also died in accidents, on the lunar surface. Also left on the Moon were several tokens of world peace.

For more information:

https://www.nasa.gov/history/55-years-ago-apollo-11s-one-small-step-one-giant-leap/

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/explorers-on-the-moon-apollo-11-landing/

https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_11_30th.html

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo.html

https://www.astromart.com/news/show/neil-armstrong-buzz-aldrin-michael-collins-50-years-ago-today-the-ultimate-quest-begins

https://www.astromart.com/news/show/honoring-the-24-brave-souls-who-made-the-trip-to-the-moon-and-back

https://www.astromart.com/news/show/reflections-on-apollo-11-and-the-space-program

https://www.astromart.com/news/show/it-was-45-years-ago-today-next-stop-mars

https://www.astromart.com/news/show/neil-armstrong-a-reluctant-american-hero-1930-2012

https://www.astromart.com/news/show/roger-chaffee-ed-white-gus-grissom-50-years-ago-today