NASA - Apollo 11 Mission patch.
July 21, 2014
Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first humans on the Moon, Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 UTC. Armstrong became the first to step onto the lunar surface six hours later on July 21 at 02:56 UTC.
Apollo 11 Mission launch aboard Saturn V rocket
Launched by a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida, on July 16, Apollo 11 was the fifth manned mission of NASA's Apollo program. The Apollo spacecraft had three parts: a Command Module (CM) with a cabin for the three astronauts, and the only part that landed back on Earth; a Service Module (SM), which supported the Command Module with propulsion, electrical power, oxygen, and water; and a Lunar Module (LM) for landing on the Moon.
Image above: Apollo 11 spacecraft. SM: Service Module (no call sign); CM: Command Module, Columbia; LM: Lunar Module, Eagle (pre-production appearance).
After being sent toward the Moon by the Saturn V's upper stage, the astronauts separated the spacecraft from it and traveled for three days until they entered into lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin then moved into the Lunar Module and landed in the Sea of Tranquility.
Apollo 11 TV Broadcast - Neil Armstrong First Step on Moon
The EVA lasted approximately 2.5 hours with all scientific activities being completed satisfactorily. The Apollo 11 (EVA) began at 10:39:33 p.m. EDT on July 20, 1969 when Astronaut Neil Armstrong emerged from the spacecraft first.
The Apollo 11 crew, Niel Armstrong (left), Michael Collins (center), Buzz Aldrin (right)
While descending, he released the Modularized Equipment Stowage Assembly on the Lunar Module's descent stage. A camera on this module provided live television coverage of man's first step on the Moon.
Image above: Aldrin bootprint; part of an experiment to test the properties of the lunar regolith.
On this, their one and only EVA, the astronauts had a great deal to do in a short time. During this first visit to the Moon, the astronauts remained within about 100 meters of the lunar module, collected about 47 pounds of samples, and deployed four experiments. After spending approximately 2 hours and 31 minutes on the surface, the astronauts ended the EVA at 1:11:13 a.m. EDT on July 21.
Image above: Buzz Aldrin erects the Solar Wind Composition Experiment (SWC), an experiment made by the University of Bern, Switzerland.
Armstrong spent about two and a half hours outside the spacecraft, Aldrin slightly less, and together they collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material for return to Earth. A third member of the mission, Michael Collins, piloted the command spacecraft alone in lunar orbit until Armstrong and Aldrin returned to it just under a day later for the trip back to Earth.
Eagle's ascent stage approaching Columbia
After lifting off in the upper part of the Lunar Module and rejoining Collins in the Command Module, they returned to Earth and landed in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.
Image above: Apollo 11 crew and a Navy diver await pickup after a safe splashdown east of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean on July 24th, 1969.
Broadcast on live TV to a world-wide audience, Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface and described the event as "one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Apollo 11 effectively ended the Space Race and fulfilled a national goal proposed in 1961 by the late US President John F. Kennedy in a speech before the United States Congress, "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."
For more information about Apollo 11 Mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html
Images, Videos, Text, Credits: NASA / NASA TV / Wikipedia.
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