Neil armstrong first man on the moon history
Aldrin joined him 19 minutes later, and they spent about two and a quarter hours together exploring the site they had named Tranquility Base upon landing. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, and Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon's surface six hours and 39 minutes later, on July 21 at 02:56 UTC. Analysis of the lunar samples also confirmed that they were indeed lifeless and showed no evidence of water.Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. On the Moon, breccias formed from rocks that are broken up by impacting objects.
Breccias are composed of fragments of other rocks. The Apollo 11 basalts formed 3.6 to 3.9 billion years ago and are unusually rich in the element titanium. Basalt is formed by the solidification of molten magma.
Post-mission analysis showed that the Apollo 11 samples consisted of two primary rock types. Although scientists considered it unlikely that the Moon had life on it, the crew was kept in a biological quarantine for 21 days. The crew returned safely to Earth on July 24, landing in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Hawaii, after a flight of 8 days and 3 hours. Altogether, Apollo 11 spent 2.5 days in lunar orbit, circling the Moon 31 times. After just 21.6 hours on the Moon, Eagle’s ascent stage returned to lunar orbit and rejoined Columbia. They also performed ceremonial duties, including setting up a United States flag, unveiling a commemorative plaque on the lunar module, and having a brief conversation with President Richard Nixon.ĭuring the moon landing, Collins remained in lunar orbit in the command module, Columbia. Armstrong and Aldrin collected 21.6 kilograms of samples and deployed a seismometer to measure moonquakes, a laser retroreflector to enable precise measurements of the distance between Earth and the Moon, and a device to collect a sample of the solar wind.
The duration of this first ever moonwalk was limited to just 2 hours and 31 minutes and the crew remained within 60 meters of Eagle. At 9:56 PM CDT, Armstrong set foot on the lunar surface, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Aldrin followed a short while later. Eagle actually had about 45 seconds of fuel left when it touched down.Īfter a checkout of Eagle’s systems, Armstrong and Aldrin prepared for their moonwalk. However, post mission analysis showed that sloshing in the fuel tank during Armstrong’s search for a safe landing site caused the fuel gauge to give an inaccurate reading. The Eagle has landed.” At the time of landing, Mission Control thought that the spacecraft had just 17 seconds of fuel left in the descent stage. At 3:17 PM CDT, he announced their safe landing, “Houston, Tranquility Base.
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Armstrong took manual control and flew to a safe landing spot beyond the crater. Because of the navigation error, the computer was guiding the spacecraft towards an unsafe touchdown point in the rugged, boulder-filled ejecta field surrounding West Crater. The last of these alarms occurred less than three minutes before landing, when the crew was less than 500 meters above the surface. These alarms all indicated that Eagle’s computer system was overloaded, but in each case, Mission Control concluded that it was safe to continue the landing. However, a navigation error earlier in the mission caused Eagle to be about 7 kilometers beyond the planned landing location.ĭuring the 12.6-minute-long powered descent, there were a total of five unexpected computer alarms. The planned landing site in the Sea of Tranquility was selected as a flat, safe location and had been surveyed by Apollo 10 at an elevation of 10 miles above the Moon. The following day, Armstrong and Aldrin begin their descent to the lunar surface in the Lunar Module, Eagle. Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin entered lunar orbit on the afternoon of July 19. Right: Aldrin’s bootprint in the lunar regolith.Īpollo 11 was launched on July 16, 1969, at 8:32 AM Central Daylight Time (CDT) with the goal of performing the first human landing on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong, who took the photo, and the Lunar Module Eagle are visible as reflections in Aldrin’s helmet visor.