Apollo 11 –
Lunar Landing Mission
“That’s one small step for
man, one giant leap for mankind”. These historic words were uttered by Neil A. Armstrong on July 20, 1969 as he became the first person to
set foot on the moon. He was joined on the lunar surface shortly thereafter by
Buzz Aldrin. Michael
Collins, the third astronaut on
the historic Apollo 11 mission, remained on board the command module during the
moon walk. Armstrong and Aldrin were on the moon for
approximately two hours and collected 46 pounds of lunar rock to bring back to
earth. The rocks were later judged to be more than 3 billion years old. The
astronauts left behind an American flag and a plaque signed by President Richard Nixon and the Apollo crew.
Apollo 11 had
blasted off four days earlier on July 16th. The astronauts took with them items
of sentimental value, including a piece of the propeller from the Wright
brothers’ 1903 airplane. The distance from earth to moon was approximately
238,000 miles, at which point the command module went into orbit 60 miles above
the moon’s surface. Armstrong and Aldrin then moved
into the lunar module (named “Eagle”) to descend to the surface, touching down
in the Sea of Tranquility, and sending back the message, “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle
has landed”. Armstrong and Aldrin then began
their famous EVA, or Extra Vehicular Activity, or moonwalk.
Twenty-one hours
after landing on the moon, Armstrong and Aldrin
reunited with Collins who had been orbiting alone in the command module, Columbia.
The command module was required in the Pacific Ocean
and was eventually taken to the National Air
and Space Museum where it remains on display.