First Man Mission to the Moon: Apollo 11

Apollo 11 Mission The Apollo 11 mission was the first man mission to land on the Moon. The Apollo 11 team left Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969 at 13:32UTC. The mission’s team included Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Commander Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. After being in orbit for 72 hours, Armstrong and Aldrin climbed into the Lunar Module, named the Eagle, and prepared for their descent to the Lunar surface. The Lunar Module "Eagle" consisted of two parts: the descent stage and the ascent stage.

The descent stage had the engine used to land on the Moon, four legs, a storage area for experimental gear and a ladder for the crew to climb down to the Moon’s surface. The descent stage module also served as the launch platform for the ascent stage module when it was time to leave the Moon’s surface and reunite with the Command Service Module. The two Apollo 11 astronauts landed on the Moon at 4:18pm EDT on July 20, 1969 at a site called Mare Tranquillitatis. This site was chosen for many factors which included: smoothness, approach, propellant requirements, free return, and slope.

The Lunar Module was equipped with cameras that would provided live television coverage of Armstrong’s first steps onto the moon at 10:56pm EDT and proclaimed: “That’s One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Mankind”. At 11:16 p. m. EDT, Buzz Aldrin stepped out of the Lunar Module and joined Neil Armstrong on the Moon’s surface. During the time the astronauts were on the surface of the Moon they collect about forty- seven pounds of Lunar surface materials. This material was collected for later analysis by scientists back on Earth.

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Armstrong and Aldrin stated in communication with Houston that they notice that the Moons gravity was very different than that on Earth. They had to move slowly by leaping of hopping with both feet to keep their balance. Some of the items the astronauts left on the Moon’s surface were an American flag as a reminder of their accomplishments, a disc that contained 73 messages from around the world, a patch from Apollo 1, medals from Russian cosmonauts, and the U. S. symbol that was an eagle carrying an olive branch.

The two astronauts were on the Moon for about 2 hours 30 minutes before successfully connecting back with the command ship. After the successful landing, walking, and return to the command ship, Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin prepared for the trip back to Earth after spending 128 hours in space. The decent to Earth took place on July 24, 1969. The astronauts landed in the Pacific Ocean east of Wake Island 195 ? hours after launch. Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin were than quarantined due to landing on the Moon and also the fear that they may have brought back some undiscovered pathogens while they were there.

After a three week long quarantine the astronauts were released. On August 13, 1969 the three astronauts excited to be released were met by crowds of cheering Americans. There were parades to honor the astronauts in cities like New York, Chicago and LA on the same day of their release from quarantine. Apollo 11 mission objective was accomplished. They had safely landed men on the Moon and brought them back to Earth again. This mission made many things possible for the future of space travel and what was to come. Works Cited "Apollo 11. " Lunar science and exploration.

Lunar and Planetary Institute. 26 Sept. 2008 . This website source offered the detailed information of the whole Apollo 11 Mission from the take off to the landing on the Moon and back to Earth again. The specifics of every aspect of the astronaut's activities such as experiments, the first steps, details on the landing sites. There were also a variety of pictures of the Apollo 11 Mission and its crew. I found this site very useful because of the great amount of detailed information about what the astronauts went through and how long it took them to complete this mission. Apollo 11. " Science Channel. Comcast Cable. 99, Rockford. 28 Sept. 2008. During this broadcast you witnessed the Apollo 11 crew member Neil Armstrong making his first steps and the famous words that were spoken "One small step for man one giant leap for mankind. "It was amazing to see the actual footage from the original broadcast of the first steps on the Moon. I found it exciting to be transported to the actual event in history. Garner, Joe. "Apollo 11 MAN WALKS ON MOON. " We Interrupt This Broadcast.

By Joe Garner, Walter Cronkite and Bill Kurtis. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, 1998. 68-72. The area of the book that pertained to Apollo 11 Mission told of the take off from Earth and the close call when landing on the Moon. Many of the details in this book were covered more thoroughly in my other resources. There was only one fact that I obtained from this book that was not mentioned in anything else I had read, that was about the plaque left on the Moon. Weaver, Kenneth F. "The Flight of Apollo 11. " National Geographic Dec. 1969: 752-87.

This article tells of the landing in great detail, the events that took place while on the Moon as well as the technology that was used on Earth and in space for this mission. Also included in this article was how this feet had changed the outlook for the future of space travel for the better and how landing on the Moon and safely returning to Earth. I found this article to be one of the most informative resources I used in writing my paper. Wilford, John N. "MEN WALK ON THE MOON. " New York Times 21 July 1969: 1-2. This newspaper article told the readers about Armstrong's first steps on the Moon.

Also it told of the items collected from the Moon's surface for future scientific experiments back on Earth. Finally the article told of the Presidents words of congratulations and pride in the accomplishments and advancements the astronauts made in the vision of future and in peace for all mankind. The New York Times newspaper article summarized key points of the Apollo 11 Mission which informed millions of people that may have missed the broadcast of the events on July 21,1969. I found this newspaper showed how important the Apollo 11 Mission was to the world and how this event changed history.

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