Apollo 11
"Columbia"
NSSDC ID: 69-059A
First
manned landing on another planet in Mare Tranquillitatis. Six
hours after landing at 4:17:41pm EDT, Ohio's own Neil A. Armstrong
became the human to set foot on another world as he stepped off the
Lunar Module, named "Eagle" onto the surface of the Moon. His
"small step for a man" allowed him to look up and see Earth in the
heavens as no one had done before him. Neil was shortly joined by
"Buzz" Aldrin, and the two astronauts spent 21 hours on the lunar
surface. Aldrin's description of the Moon's stark landscape as a
"magnificent desolation" was certainly fitting.
Armstrong reported "The surface is fine and powdery... I can pick it
up loosely with my toe. It does adhere in fine layers like powdered
charcoal to the sole and sides of my boots. I can only go in a small
fraction of an inch."
The two walked on the moon for over 2 hours before leaving behind
scientific equipment, a camera, and an American flag. Their liftoff
from the surface of the moon with 46 pounds of lunar rocks was
captured on a TV camera they left behind. They then successfully
docked with Michael Collins in the Command Module "Columbia". The
Lunar Module was jettisoned and the return journey to Earth began.
The Apollo astronauts traveled approximately 384,400 km reaching
speeds of almost 12 km per second in order to land on the Earth's
only satellite companion, the Moon. In total, only 12 men have
walked on its surface.
Description:
The
Apollo 11 spacecraft was part of the first mission in which humans
landed on the lunar surface and returned to earth. The spacecraft
consisted of three modules -- a lunar module (LM), a command module
(CM), and a service module, which was linked to the command module
to form the command service module (CSM). After the spacecraft
orbited the moon, the LM and CSM separated. Two astronauts in
the LM (Commander Neil A. Armstrong and LM pilot Edwin E. "Buzz"
Aldrin Jr.) landed on the lunar surface at the Sea of Tranquility
(0.67 deg N latitude and 23.49 deg E longitude), while one (CM pilot
Michael Collins) remained in lunar orbit in the command module.
Scientific studies were performed, and soil and rock samples were
acquired by the astronauts during a moonwalk. The men returned to
the LM, docked the LM and the CSM, and returned to earth. The Apollo
11 spacecraft was launched on July 16, 1969 and was injected into
lunar orbit on July 19. The LM (69-059C) landed on the moon on July
20, 1969 and returned to the command module on July 21. The
command module left lunar orbit on July 22 and returned to earth on
July 24, 1969. A laser ranging retroreflector and a passive
seismograph experiment were left on the moon. The performance of the
spacecraft was excellent throughout the mission.
The Apollo 11 Command Module is on display at the National Air and
Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Crew:
Neil A. Armstrong, commander
Michael Collins, command module pilot
Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr., lunar module pilot
Launch Information:
Launch Date/Time: 1969-07-16 at 13:32:01 UTC
Returned to Earth:
1969-07-24 UT 16:50:35 (12:50:35 PM EDT)
Launch Site/Country:
Cape Canaveral, United States
On-orbit dry mass:
28860.00 kg
Launch Vehicle:
Saturn 5
Orbital Information:
Orbit:
Orbiter
Central Body:
Moon
Landed on Moon:
20 July 1969 UT
20:17:41 (04:17:41 PM EDT)
Landing Site:
Mare Tranquillitatis -
Sea of Tranquility (0°40'26.69"N - 23°28'22.69"E)
Epoch start date/time:
1969.200:00:00:00 (19
July)
Epoch end date/time:
1969.203:00:00:00 (22
July)
Orbital Period: 2.00 h
Project Manager
Lgen S. C. Phillips
Code MA
NASA Headquarters
Washington, DC 20546
Discipline(s)
Human Crew
Planetary Science
Sponsoring
Agencies/Countries
NASA-Office of
Manned Space Flight/United States
Text Courtesy of The National Space Science Data Center |
