Apollo 11 Moon Landing

Apollo 11 Insignia
When it seemed that the United States was lagging behind the Soviet Union in the so-called Space Race, NASA launched the Apollo program which did not only make the country an equivalent adversary to the Soviets but gave it the preeminent role in exploration of the outer space. The United States remains the only country to land humans on the Moon, while the Apollo 11 Moon landing remains one of the greatest achievements of mankind which can be superseded only by manned missions to more distant solar system bodies.

Launch of the Apollo 11

The successful launch of the Sputnik 1, the first orbital satellite by the Soviet Union in 1957 followed by the first human spaceflight performed by a Soviet, Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961, did not remain unanswered by the United States for long. A month and a half after Gagarin’s spaceflight, the US President John F. Kennedy announced a plan to land humans on the Moon by 1970. The Moon landing program was supported by both Kennedy’s successors, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon, and Saturn V finally launched Apollo 11 with Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz“ Aldrin aboard from the Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969 at 9:32 a.m. at local time.

Landing on the Moon

On their way to the Moon, the astronauts showed their activities and their sight on Earth on a television broadcast. They entered the lunar orbit on July 19 and shortly thereafter Aldrin went to test the systems of the lunar module, the Eagle by which he and Armstrong flew to the Moon the next day. Collins remained aboard the command module Columbia orbiting the Moon. Armstrong and Aldrin landed in the Sea of Tranquility on July 20 at 4:18 p.m. (EDT) calling the Mission Control and saying: “Huston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.“ Six and a half hours later, they slipped into their protective suits, deployed a camera and climbed down the lunar module. About one half of a billion people watched Armstrong setting his foot on the Moon at 10:56 p.m. (EDT).

Activities on the Lunar Surface and the Return to Earth

Armstrong and Aldrin spent two and a half hours on the Moon’s surface during which they raised the US flag and collected 47 pounds (21.5 kilograms) of material that was taken back to Earth for analyses. After returning to the lunar module, they rested for eight hours before starting the engines to lift off. They rejoined Collins in late afternoon on July 21, while the Eagle was jettisoned shortly thereafter (its impact site remains unknown). The astronauts left the lunar orbit shortly after noon on July 22 and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean in late afternoon on July 24, 195 ¼ hours after starting their mission. The three astronauts were then kept in a quarantine for 16 days in oder to prevent a potential transmission of pathogens from the Moon. None were found and Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins were released from the quarantine on August 13. The Apollo 11 Moon landing was a success and the United States won a major “battle“ in the Space Race with the Soviet Union.

Later Apollo Moon Landing Missions

There were six further Apollo (12 through 17) Moon landing missions all of which landed on the Moon’s surface and returned successfully to Earth except for Apollo 13 that had to abort the landing due to the rupture of an oxygen tank damaging the electrical system of the spacecraft. The astronauts did, however, successfully return home. Apollo 17 launched on December 7, 1972, remains the last manned Moon landing so far.