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Apollo 11

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Space transport

   CAPTION: Apollo 11

                     Mission insignia
                    Mission statistics
        Mission name:      Apollo 11
         Call sign:        Command module:
                           Columbia
                           Lunar module:
                           Eagle
   Number of crew members: 3
         Launch pad:       Kennedy Space Centre, Florida
                           LC 39A
           Launch:         July 16, 1969
                           13:32:00 UTC
       Lunar landing:      July 20, 1969
                           20:17:40 UTC
                           Sea of Tranquility
                           0° 40' 26.69" N,
                           23° 28' 22.69" E
                           (based on the IAU
                           Mean Earth Polar Axis
                           coordinate system)
      Lunar EVA length:    2 h 31 min 40 s
     Lunar surface time:   21 h 36 min 20 s
     Lunar sample mass:    21.55 kg (47.5 lb)
          Landing:         July 24, 1969
                           16:50:35 UTC
                           13°19′N 169°9′W
          Duration:        195 h 18 min 35 s
    Time in lunar orbit:   59 h 30 min 25.79 s
            Mass:          CSM: 30,320 kg
                           LM: 16,448 kg
                        Crew photo
   L-R: Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin
   L-R: Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin
                        Navigation

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   Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. It was the
   fifth human spaceflight of the Apollo program, and the third human
   voyage to the moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Commander
   Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module
   Pilot Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin became the
   first humans to land on the Moon, while Collins orbited above.

   The mission fulfilled President John F. Kennedy's goal of "landing a
   man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth" by the end of
   the 1960s.

Crew

Primary crew

     * Neil Armstrong (2), commander
     * Michael Collins (2), command module pilot
     * Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin (2), lunar module pilot

   *Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each
   individual prior to and including this mission.

Backup crew

     * James Lovell (flew in Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, Apollo 13),
       commander
     * Bill Anders (flew in Apollo 8), command module pilot
     * Fred Haise (flew in Apollo 13), lunar module pilot

Support crew

     * Charles Moss Duke, Jr., Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM)
     * Ronald Evans, CAPCOM
     * Owen K. Garriott, CAPCOM
     * Don L. Lind, CAPCOM
     * Ken Mattingly, CAPCOM
     * Bruce McCandless II, CAPCOM
     * Harrison Schmitt, CAPCOM
     * Bill Pogue
     * Jack Swigert

Flight directors

     * Clifford E. Charlesworth, Lead Flight Director, Green team
     * Gerald D. Griffin, Gold team
     * Gene Kranz, White team
     * Glynn S. Lunney, Black team

Mission highlights

Launch and lunar landing

   In addition to one million people crowding the highways and beaches
   near the launch site, an estimated audience of over 600 million people
   viewed the event on television; a new record at that time. President
   Nixon viewed the proceedings from the Oval Office of the White House.

   Apollo 11 was launched by a Saturn V from the Kennedy Space Centre on
   July 16, 1969 at 13:32 UTC (9:32 A.M. local time). It entered Earth's
   orbit 12 minutes later. After one and a half orbits, the S-IVB
   third-stage engine pushed the spacecraft onto its trajectory toward the
   Moon. About 30 minutes later, the command/service module pair separated
   from the last remaining Saturn V stage, and docked with the lunar
   module still nestled in the Lunar Module Adaptor. A translunar
   injection burn (TLI) then launched the combined spacecraft towards the
   moon.

   Apollo 11 passed behind the Moon on July 19 and fired its Service
   propulsion engine in order to enter lunar orbit. In the several orbits
   that followed, the crew got passing views of their landing site. In the
   southern Sea of Tranquility about 20 km (12 mi) southwest of the crater
   Sabine D (0.67408N,23.47297E), the landing site was selected in part
   because it had been characterized as relatively flat and smooth by the
   automated Ranger 8 and Surveyor 5 landers, as well as by Lunar Orbiter
   mapping spacecraft. It was therefore unlikely to present major landing
   or extra-vehicular activity (EVA) challenges.
   Buzz Aldrin bootprint. It was part of an experiment to test the
   properties of the lunar regolith.
   Enlarge
   Buzz Aldrin bootprint. It was part of an experiment to test the
   properties of the lunar regolith.

   On July 20, 1969, while on the far side of the Moon, the lunar module,
   called Eagle after the eagle present on the insignia, separated from
   the Command Module, named Columbia after the columbiad cannon used to
   launch moonships in Jules Verne's novel From the Earth to the Moon.
   Some internal NASA planning documents referred to the callsigns as
   Snowcone and Haystack; these were quietly changed before being
   announced to the press. Collins, alone aboard Columbia, inspected Eagle
   as it pirouetted before him to ensure the craft was not damaged.
   Armstrong and Aldrin used Eagle's descent engine to right themselves
   and descend to the lunar surface.

   As the landing began, Armstrong reported they were "running long";
   Eagle was 4 seconds further along its descent trajectory than planned,
   and would land miles west of the intended site. The LM navigation and
   guidance computer reported several unusual "program alarms" as it
   guided the LM's descent, taking the crew's attention from the scene
   outside as the descent proceeded. In NASA's Mission Control Centre in
   Houston, Texas, controller Steve Bales told the flight director that it
   was safe to continue the descent in spite of the alarms; the computer
   was merely reporting it was overtasked and that nothing was wrong with
   the spacecraft. Once Armstrong returned his attention to the view
   outside it was apparent that the computer was guiding them toward a
   field of large rocks scattered around a large crater. Armstrong took
   manual control of the lunar module at that point, and with Aldrin's
   assistance, calling out data from the radar and computer, guided it to
   a landing at 20:17 UTC on July 20 with about 15 seconds of fuel left.
   The Saturn V carrying Apollo 11 took several seconds to clear the tower
   on July 16, 1969.
   Enlarge
   The Saturn V carrying Apollo 11 took several seconds to clear the tower
   on July 16, 1969.

   The program alarms were "executive overflows", indicating that the
   computer could not finish its work in the time allotted. The cause was
   later determined to be the LM rendezvous radar being left on during the
   descent, causing the computer to spend unplanned time servicing the
   unused radar. Although Apollo 11 landed with less fuel than other
   missions, they also encountered a premature low fuel warning. It was
   later found caused by the lunar gravity permitting greater propellant
   'slosh', uncovering a fuel sensor; extra baffles in the tanks were
   subsequently added.

   Armstrong bestowed the name Tranquility Base on the landing site
   immediately after touchdown to the partial confusion of the staff at
   Mission Control.

   Shortly after landing, before preparations began for the EVA, Aldrin
   broadcast that:

          This is the LM pilot. I'd like to take this opportunity to ask
          every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to
          pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few
          hours and to give thanks in his or her own way.

   He then took Communion, privately. At this time, NASA was still
   fighting a lawsuit brought by atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair (who had
   objected to the Apollo 8 crew reading from the Book of Genesis), which
   demanded that their astronauts refrain from religious activities while
   in space. As such, Aldrin (an Episcopalian) chose to refrain from
   directly mentioning this. He had kept the plan quiet, not even
   mentioning it to his wife, and did not reveal it publicly for several
   years.

Lunar surface operations

   Neil Armstrong takes his first step onto the Moon
   Enlarge
   Neil Armstrong takes his first step onto the Moon

   At 2:56 UTC on July 21, six and a half hours after landing, Armstrong
   made his descent to the Moon surface and spoke his famous line " That's
   one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind". Aldrin joined
   him, saying, "Beautiful. Beautiful. Magnificent desolation." The two
   spent two-and-a-half hours drilling core samples, photographing what
   they saw and collecting rocks.

   It has long been assumed that Armstrong mistakenly omitted the word "a"
   from his famous remark, rendering the phrase redundant. Armstrong
   thought he had said it and claimed he did indeed say it. A digital
   audio analysis conducted by Peter Shann Ford, suggests Armstrong did,
   in fact, say "a man", but the "a" was inaudible due to static noise and
   the limitations of communications technology of the time. Ford and
   Auburn University professor of history James R. Hansen, Armstrong's
   authorized biographer, presented these findings to Armstrong and NASA
   representatives; completed at the end of September 2006, it claims to
   confirm Armstrong did say "a" and settles the long-standing
   controversy. Ford's claims have not yet been reviewed by speech
   researchers, only by Armstrong and a physiotherapist with a Masters in
   Biomechanics. (Armstrong has expressed his preference that written
   quotations include the "a" in parentheses.)
     * Buzz Aldrin steps onto the Moon
          +

   They planned placement of the Early Apollo Scientific Experiment
   Package (EASEP) and the U.S. flag by studying their landing site
   through Eagle's twin triangular windows, which gave them a 60° field of
   view. Preparation required longer than the two hours scheduled.
   Armstrong had some initial difficulties squeezing through the hatch
   with his Portable Life Support System (PLSS). According to veteran
   moonwalker John Young, a redesign of the LM to incorporate a smaller
   hatch was not followed by a redesign of the PLSS backpack, so some of
   the highest heart rates recorded from Apollo astronauts occurred during
   LM egress and ingress.
   Buzz Aldrin poses on the Moon allowing Neil Armstrong to photograph
   both of them using the visor's reflection.
   Enlarge
   Buzz Aldrin poses on the Moon allowing Neil Armstrong to photograph
   both of them using the visor's reflection.

   The Remote Control Unit controls on Armstrong's chest prevented him
   from seeing his feet. While climbing down the nine-rung ladder,
   Armstrong pulled a D-ring to deploy the Modular Equipment Stowage
   Assembly (MESA) folded against Eagle's side and activate the TV camera.
   The first images used a Slow-scan television system which was
   incompatible with commercial broadcast technology at the time so the
   images rebroadcasted were played on screens mounted in front of
   conventional television cameras. The signal was picked up at Goldstone
   in the USA but with better fidelity by Honeysuckle Creek Tracking
   Station in Australia. Minutes later the TV was switched to normal
   television, and the feed was switched to the more sensitive radio
   telescope station at the Parkes Observatory in Australia. Despite some
   technical and weather difficulties, ghostly black and white images of
   the first lunar EVA were received and were immediately broadcast to at
   least 600 million people on Earth.

   After describing the surface dust ("fine and powdery ... I only go in a
   small fraction of an inch, but I can see the footprints of my boots"),
   Armstrong stepped off Eagle's footpad and into history as the first
   human to set foot on another world, famously describing it as "one
   small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." He reported that
   moving in the Moon's gravity, one-sixth of Earth's, was "even perhaps
   easier than the simulations ... It's absolutely no trouble to walk
   around".

   In addition to fulfilling President John F. Kennedy's mandate to land a
   man on the Moon before the end of the 1960s, Apollo 11 was an
   engineering test of the Apollo system; therefore, Armstrong snapped
   photos of the LM so engineers would be able to judge its post-landing
   condition. He then collected a contingency soil sample using a sample
   bag on a stick. He folded the bag and tucked it into a pocket on his
   right thigh. He removed the TV camera from the MESA, made a panoramic
   sweep, and mounted it on a tripod 12 m (40 ft) from the LM. The TV
   camera cable remained partly coiled and presented a tripping hazard
   throughout the EVA.
   Photo of the actual plaque left on the moon (attached to the ladder of
   the LM Descent Stage).
   Enlarge
   Photo of the actual plaque left on the moon (attached to the ladder of
   the LM Descent Stage).

   Aldrin joined him on the surface and tested methods for moving around,
   including two-footed kangaroo hops. The PLSS backpack created a
   tendency to tip backwards, but neither astronaut had serious problems
   maintaining balance. Loping became the preferred method of movement.
   The astronauts reported that they needed to plan their movements six or
   seven steps ahead. The fine soil was quite slippery. Aldrin remarked
   that moving from sunlight into Eagle's shadow produced no temperature
   change inside the suit, though the helmet was warmer in sunlight, so he
   felt cooler in shadow.
   A visible shockwave formed as the Saturn V encountered Max Q at about 1
   minute 20 seconds into the flight (altitude 12.5 km, 4 km downrange,
   velocity 440 m/s).
   Enlarge
   A visible shockwave formed as the Saturn V encountered Max Q at about 1
   minute 20 seconds into the flight (altitude 12.5 km, 4 km downrange,
   velocity 440 m/s).

   Together the astronauts planted the U.S. flag, then took a phone call
   from President Richard Nixon.

   The MESA failed to provide a stable work platform and was in shadow,
   slowing work somewhat. As they worked, the moonwalkers kicked up gray
   dust which soiled the outer part of their suits, the integrated thermal
   meteoroid garment.

   They deployed the EASEP, which included a passive seismograph and a
   laser ranging retroreflector. Then Armstrong loped about 120 m (400 ft)
   from the LM to snap photos at the rim of East Crater while Aldrin
   collected two core tubes. He used the geological hammer to pound in the
   tubes - the only time the hammer was used on Apollo 11. The astronauts
   then collected rock samples using scoops and tongs on extension
   handles. Many of the surface activities took longer than expected, so
   they had to stop documented sample collection halfway through the
   allotted 34 min.
   Neil Armstrong works at the LM in one of the few photos taken of him
   from the lunar surface. NASA photo as 11-40-5886
   Enlarge
   Neil Armstrong works at the LM in one of the few photos taken of him
   from the lunar surface. NASA photo as 11-40-5886

   During this period Mission Control used a coded phrase to warn
   Armstrong that his metabolic rates were high and that he should slow
   down. He was moving rapidly from task to task as time ran out. Rates
   remained generally lower than expected for both astronauts throughout
   the walk, however, so Mission Control granted the astronauts a
   15-minute extension.

Lunar ascent and return

   Aldrin entered Eagle first. With some difficulty the astronauts lifted
   film and two sample boxes containing more than 22 kg (48 lb) of lunar
   surface material to the LM hatch using a flat cable pulley device
   called the Lunar Equipment Conveyor. Armstrong then jumped to the
   ladder's third rung and climbed into the LM. After transferring to LM
   life support, the explorers lightened the ascent stage for return to
   lunar orbit by tossing out their PLSS backpacks, lunar overshoes, one
   Hasselblad camera, and other equipment. They then repressurised the LM,
   and settled down to sleep.

   While moving in the cabin Aldrin accidentally broke the circuit breaker
   that armed the main engine for lift off from the moon. There was
   initial concern this would prevent firing the engine, which would
   strand them on the moon. Fortunately a felt-tip pen was sufficient to
   activate the switch. Had this not worked, the Lunar Module circuitry
   could have been reconfigured to allow firing the ascent engine.

   After about seven hours of rest, they were awoken by Houston to prepare
   for the return flight. Two and a half hours later, at 17:54 UTC, they
   lifted off in Eagle's ascent stage, carrying 21.5 kilograms of lunar
   samples with them, to rejoin CMP Michael Collins aboard Columbia in
   lunar orbit.

   After more than 2½ hours on the lunar surface, they had left behind
   scientific instruments such as a retroreflector array used for the
   Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment. They also left an American flag and a
   plaque (mounted on the LM Descent Stage ladder) bearing two drawings of
   Earth (of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres), an inscription, and
   signatures of the astronauts and Richard Nixon. The inscription read
   Here Men From Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D.
   We Came in Peace For All Mankind.

   Film taken from the LM Ascent Stage upon liftoff from the moon reveal
   the American flag, planted some 25 feet from the descent stage,
   whipping violently in the exhaust of the ascent stage engine. As the
   landing site receded out of the camera field of view, the flag appeared
   ready to topple, but whether it did in fact fall or not is unknown.
   Subsequent Apollo missions usually planted the American flags at least
   100 feet from the LM to avoid being blown over by the ascent engine
   exhaust.

   After rendezvous with Columbia, Eagle was jettisoned and left in lunar
   orbit. Later NASA reports mentioned that Eagle's orbit had decayed
   resulting in it impacting in an "uncertain location" on the lunar
   surface.

   The astronauts returned to earth on July 24, welcomed as heroes. The
   splashdown point was 13°19′N 169°9′W, 2,660 km (1,440 nm) east of Wake
   Island, or 380 km (210 nm) south of Johnston Atoll, and 24 km (15 mi)
   from the recovery ship, USS Hornet. After recovery by helicopter
   approximately one hour after splashdown, the astronauts were placed in
   a trailer that had been designed as a quarantine facility. President
   Nixon was aboard the recovery vessel to personally welcome the
   astronauts back to Earth.
   The crew of Apollo 11 in quarantine after returning to earth, visited
   by Richard Nixon.
   Enlarge
   The crew of Apollo 11 in quarantine after returning to earth, visited
   by Richard Nixon.

   The astronauts were placed in quarantine after their landing on the
   moon due to fears that the moon might contain undiscovered pathogens,
   and that the astronauts were exposed to them during their moon walks.
   However, after almost three weeks in confinement (first in their
   trailer and later in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Lyndon B.
   Johnson Space Centre), the astronauts were given a clean bill of
   health. On August 13, 1969, the astronauts exited quarantine to the
   cheers of the American public. Parades were held in their honour in New
   York, Chicago, and Los Angeles on the same day.

   That evening in Los Angeles there was an official State Dinner to
   celebrate Apollo 11, attended by Members of Congress, 44 Governors, the
   Chief Justice, and ambassadors from 83 nations. President Nixon and
   Vice President Spiro T. Agnew honored each astronaut with a
   presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This celebration was
   the beginning of a 45-day "Giant Leap" tour that brought the astronauts
   to 25 foreign countries and included visits with prominent leaders such
   as Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Many nations would honour
   the first moon landing by issuing Apollo 11 commemorative postage
   stamps or coins.

   On September 16, 1969, the three astronauts spoke before a Joint
   Session of Congress on Capitol Hill. They presented two U.S. flags, one
   to the House of Representatives and the other to the Senate, that had
   been carried to the surface of the moon with them.

   The command module is displayed at the National Air and Space Museum,
   Washington, D.C.. It is placed in the central exhibition hall in front
   of the Jefferson Drive entrance, and shares the main hall with other
   pioneering flight vehicles such as the Spirit of St. Louis, the Bell
   X-1, the North American X-15, Mercury capsule Friendship 7, and Gemini
   4. The quarantine trailer is displayed at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy
   Centre annex near Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia.

Communications link

   Early in the planning of Project Apollo, NASA decided to combine all
   communications between spacecraft and Earth into a single multiplexed
   feed called 'The Unified S-Band System', including audio
   communications, television images, crew medical telemetry and the
   spacecraft systems telemetry.

   The signal was picked up by three purpose-built stations, called
   Goldstone (California), Honeysuckle Creek (Australia) and Fresnedillas
   (Spain), and backed-up by the three nearby deep space network stations
   (known as 'wing stations'). All of the signals were routed to NASA's
   communications centre (now the Goddard Space Flight Centre) in
   Greenbelt, Maryland.

   Intelsat satellites began taking over the trans-oceanic transmissions
   toward the end of the 1960s, and NASA ended its contracts for the
   submarine telephone circuits, which were then reallocated by telephone
   administrations for normal voice use.

   On 14 July 1969, two days before last day of the launch window, the
   INTELSAT III satellite over the Atlantic failed, cutting off the link
   between the dish in Spain and Greenbelt, Maryland. It was decided that
   the problem needed to be fixed by two hours before launch time, or the
   launch would be scrubbed - potentially the last launch opportunity in
   1969.

   The Early Bird satellite was activated, but there were concerns that it
   might not have enough power to get a signal to the United States. So,
   with great difficulty, twelve undersea telephone circuits were made
   available to NASA from six countries, for their inverse multiplexed
   signal. An official with the Spanish communications authority helped
   the team secure the circuits with his own personal list of contacts.
   The last circuit using inverse multiplexing was accepted by NASA just
   minutes before the time limit.

Conspiracy theories

   There are allegations that the Apollo 11 moon landing was faked by NASA
   and possibly members of other involved organizations. A number of
   groups and individuals have advanced alternate historical narratives
   which tend, to varying degrees, to include the following common
   elements:
     * The Apollo astronauts did not land on the Moon;
     * NASA and possibly others intentionally deceived the public into
       believing the landing[s] did occur by manufacturing, destroying, or
       tampering with evidence, including photos, telemetry tapes,
       transmissions, and rock samples;
     * NASA and possibly others continue to actively participate in the
       conspiracy to this day.

   According to a 1999 poll conducted by the The Gallup Organization, 6%
   of the American public believes the landing was faked, while what
   Gallup termed an "overwhelming majority", some 89%, did in fact occur.
   The hoax claims are widely dismissed as baseless by mainstream
   scientists, technicians and engineers, as well as by NASA, and have
   been widely analyzed by debunkers such as Phil Plait.

Mission insignia

   The familiar patch of Apollo 11 was designed by Collins, who wanted a
   symbol for "peaceful lunar landing by the United States". He picked an
   eagle as the symbol, put an olive branch in its beak, and drew a moon
   background with the earth in the distance. (Collins drew the light
   shining on the earth from the wrong direction; it would have shone from
   the top of the patch.) NASA officials said the talons of the eagle
   looked too "warlike" and after some discussion, the olive branch was
   moved to the claws. The crew decided the Roman numeral XI would not be
   understood in some nations and went with Apollo 11; they decided not to
   put their names on the patch to "allow it to symbolize everyone who
   worked on the moon landing". All colors are natural, with blue and gold
   borders around the patch. The LM was named Eagle to match the insignia.
   When the Eisenhower silver dollar was revived a few years later, the
   patch design provided the eagle for the back of the coin; the design
   was kept for the smaller Susan B. Anthony dollar.

Contingency television address

   A speech titled " In Event of Moon Disaster" was prepared by William
   Safire for President Nixon to read on television in the event the
   Apollo 11 astronauts were stranded on the Moon. Following this address,
   radio communications with the moon would have been cut off, the
   astronauts left alone to die, while a clergyman was to commend their
   souls to "the deepest of the deep" in the fashion of a burial at sea.

Photo gallery

   Aldrin stands next to the Passive Seismic Experiment Package with the
   Lunar Module in the background.

   Aldrin inspects the LM landing gear.

   Aldrin unpacks experiments from the LM.

   Aldrin with the U.S. flag

   Panoramic Assembly showing Neil Armstrong

   Armstrong on lunar surface with gold visor raised. From 16 mm film
   (NASA).

   Apollo 11 crew members at the White House in 2004

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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