Apollo 11

first Moon landing and fifth crewed flight

of the United States Apollo program

Apollo 11 was the first flight to send

people to the moon. It was done by NASA,
the American space group. It went up to
space on July 16, 1969, carrying three
astronauts: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin
and Michael Collins. On July 20, 1969,
Armstrong and Aldrin became the first
humans to land on the moon, while Collins
stayed in orbit around the Moon.
 Apollo 11

Buzz Aldrin poses on the Moon, allowing Neil

Armstrong to photograph both of them using
the visor's reflection.

Mission type Crewed lunar landing

Operator NASA

COSPAR ID CSM: 1969-059A

LM: 1969-059C

SATCAT no. CSM: 4039

LM: 4041

Mission duration 8 days, 3 hours,

 18 minutes,

35 seconds

Spacecraft properties

Spacecraft Apollo CSM-107

Apollo LM-5

Manufacturer CSM: North American

Rockwell
LM: Grumman

Launch mass 100,756 pounds

(45,702 kg)

Landing mass 10,873 pounds

(4,932 kg)

Crew

Crew size 3

Members Neil A. Armstrong

Mi h l C lli
 Michael Collins

Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr.

Callsign CSM: Columbia
LM: Eagle
On surface: Tranquility
Base

Start of mission

Launch date July 16, 1969,

13:32:00 UTC

Rocket Saturn V SA-506

Launch site Kennedy Space

Center LC-39A

End of mission

Recovered by USS Hornet

Landing date July 24, 1969,

16:50:35 UTC
 16:50:35 UTC

Landing site North Pacific Ocean

13°19′N 169°9′W (http
s://geohack.toolforge.
org/geohack.php?pag
ename=Apollo_11&pa
rams=13_19_N_169_9
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pollo+11+splashdow
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Orbital parameters

Reference system Selenocentric

Pericynthion 100.9 kilometers

(54.5 nmi)[1]

Apocynthion 122.4 kilometers

(66.1 nmi)[1]

Inclination 1 25 degrees[1]
Inclination 1.25 degrees[ ]

Period 2 hours[1]
Epoch July 19, 1969,
21:44 UTC[1]

Lunar orbiter

Spacecraft Command and

component service module

Orbital insertion July 19, 1969,

17:21:50 UTC[2]

Orbital departure July 22, 1969,

04:55:42 UTC[3]

Orbits 30

Lunar lander

Spacecraft Apollo Lunar Module

component

Landing date July 20 1969

Landing date July 20, 1969,

20:17:40 UTC
Return launch July 21, 1969,
17:54 UTC

Landing site Mare Tranquillitatis

Template:Lunar
coords and quad
cat[4]

Sample mass 21.55 kilograms

(47.51 lb)

Surface EVAs 1

EVA duration 2 hours, 31 minutes,

40 seconds

Docking with LM

Docking date July 16, 1969,

16:56:03 UTC[2]
Undocking date July 20, 1969,
17:44:00 UTC[5]
Docking with LM ascent stage

Docking date July 21, 1969,

21:35:00 UTC[3]

Undocking date July 21, 1969,

23:41:31 UTC[3]

Left to right: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins,

Buzz Aldrin
Apollo program
The flight was part of the Space Race. It
finished the plan set by John F. Kennedy in
1961 to "land a man on the moon, and
return him safely to the Earth", before the
1960s ended.

The Flight

Going to and from space

Millions of people around the world viewed

the flight of Apollo 11 on television. When
the rocket was sent to space it was a
worldwide event. Richard Nixon, who was
then President, watched it from the White
House as the rocket went up. A Saturn V
rocket took flight from the Kennedy Space
Center in America.

About two hours after leaving Earth the

passenger module departed the main
rocket. The passenger module had two
main parts, the Apollo command and
service module called Columbia and the
Apollo Lunar Module called Eagle.
Columbia was the space ship that stayed
in space, and Eagle was the moon-landing
space ship. 3 days later the team entered
Lunar Orbit (orbit around the moon). A day
later the Eagle went away from Columbia.
The Eagle landed safely on the moon with
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin inside.
During the landing, there were several
problems with the computer. To land
safely Armstrong had to fly the Eagle
himself. They landed with only 25 seconds
of fuel left.[6]

Events on the moon

The first thing Buzz Aldrin did upon touch

down was to pray. He also read some
words of Jesus.[7] He did not reveal his
plan to do this because someone had just
made a lawsuit to stop astronauts from
doing religious things in space. Armstrong
became the first human to walk and speak
on the moon's surface. The first words he
said were:

That's one small step for [a]

man, one giant leap for
mankind.[6]

For the next two and a half hours Aldrin

and Armstrong took notes, pictures and
made holes to get moon rock. The
landings were watched by over six million
people on Earth[8] using the very big radio
telescope in Australia. They did many
experiments, for example, the collecting of
moon rocks and dust. An American flag
was set up and photographed on the
moon. Before doing that, President
Richard Nixon did a telephone call to
them:[9]

Nixon: Hello, Neil and Buzz. I'm

talking to you by telephone from
the Oval Room at the White
House. And this certainly has to
be the most historic telephone
call ever made. I just can't tell
you how proud we all are of
what you've done. For every
American, this has to be the
proudest day of our lives. And
for people all over the world, I
am sure they too join with
Americans in recognizing what
an immense feat this is. Because
of what you have done, the
heavens have become a part of
man's world. And as you talk to
us from the Sea of Tranquillity,
it inspires us to redouble our
efforts to bring peace and
tranquillity to Earth. For one
priceless moment in the whole
history of man, all the people on
this Earth are truly one: one in
their pride in what you have
 done, and one in our prayers
that you will return safely to
Earth. Armstrong: Thank you,
Mr. President. It's a great honor
and privilege for us to be here,
representing not only the United
States, but men of peace of all
nations, and with interest and
curiosity, and men with a vision
for the future. It's an honor for
us to be able to participate here
today.[10]

Leaving the moon and returning to

Earth
After finishing their work, Armstrong and
Aldrin returned to the Eagle and slept for
seven hours before starting to leave. While
preparing to leave, Aldrin broke the circuit
breaker in the engine starter. Armstrong
used a pen to bridge the circuit and stop
them from being stuck on the moon. Aldrin
and Armstrong left many things on the
moon: an American flag, a few
experiments, a golden feather, a logo of
Apollo 1 and some bronze coins honoring
Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov. He
also left a sign on the moon, with a
message from the human race. The sign
reads:
 Here men from the planet Earth
first set foot upon the Moon, July
1969 A.D. We came in peace for
all mankind.[11]

On July 24 the three astronauts returned to

Earth and were immediately placed into
quarantine (kept away from other people),
in case they brought back some disease
from the moon. They stayed in quarantine
for three weeks. When they got out the
men were heroes around the world. They
had dinner with President Nixon, a parade
in New York City and another one in
Chicago. The three were also on many
television shows.
Photos
The Saturn V rocket carrying the Apollo 11's
three people into space.

Buzz Aldrin's footprint on the moon's

surface.
Buzz Aldrin with the US flag soon after
stepping onto the surface.

Apollo 11 astronauts and President Nixon.

Related pages
 Apollo Program
Moon landing conspiracy theories

References
1. "Apollo 11 Mission Summary" (https://web.
archive.org/web/20130829082429/http://ai
randspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/
apollo/as11/a11sum.htm) . The Apollo
Program. National Air and Space Museum.
Archived from the original (http://airandspa
ce.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/a
s11/a11sum.htm) on August 29, 2013.
Retrieved September 7, 2013.
2. Orloff 2000, p. 106.
3. Orloff 2000, p. 109.
4. Williams, David R. (December 11, 2003).
"Apollo Landing Site Coordinates" (http://ns
sdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunar_si
tes.html) . NASA Space Science Data
Coordinated Archive. NASA. Retrieved
September 7, 2013.
5. Orloff 2000, p. 107.
6. "The First Lunar Landing" (https://www.hq.n
asa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.landing.html) .
www.hq.nasa.gov.
7. Buzz Aldrin, Ken Abraham (2009)
"Magnificent Desolation", Random House
Publishers, p. 26.
8. http://www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au/news_even
ts/apollo11/pasa/on_eagles_wings.pdf
 9. "Exhibit: Apollo 11 and Nixon" (https://www.
archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals/a
pollo11.html) . American Originals.
Washington, D.C.: National Archives and
Records Administration. March 1996.
Retrieved April 13, 2008.
10. "Richard Nixon: Telephone Conversation
With the Apollo 11 Astronauts on the Moon"
(https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/docume
nts/telephone-conversation-with-the-apollo-
11-astronauts-the-moon) . The American
Presidency Project. UC Santa Barbara.
Retrieved October 26, 2018.
11. Jones, Eric M., ed. (1995). "One Small Step"
(http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.ste
p.html) . Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal.
NASA. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
Other websites
Media related to Apollo 11 at Wikimedia
Commons

The Apollo Program (http://www.nasm.s

i.edu/collections/imagery/Apollo/AS11/
a11.htm)
Apollo 11 Image Gallery (http://history.n
asa.gov/ap11ann/kippsphotos/apollo.h
tml)
The History Place: Apollo 11 (http://ww
w.historyplace.com/unitedstates/apollo
11/index.html)
Apollo 11 Mission (http://www.lpi.usra.e
du/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/)
Retrieved from
"https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Apollo_11&oldid=8762095"

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