Most people have heard of the Apollo 11 mission and craft, but what was Apollo 11? It was a spacecraft that made history as the fifth crewed mission of NASA’s Apollo program. The mission was launched by a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida. The launch happened on the 16th of July, 1969, at 13:32 UTC.
The spacecraft consisted of three vessels:
- The Lunar Module codenamed “Eagle,” transported two astronauts to and from the moon’s surface.
- The Command Module codenamed “Columbia”, was home to all three astronauts during the journey.
- The Service Module, which housed the propulsion and support systems.
Total mission time was 8 days, 3 hours and 18 minutes.
Why was the Apollo 11 mission and its craft so important?
The 1960s was a decade of incredible scientific and technological progress. It was also when the world was in the middle of a Cold War. The United States and the Soviet Union were in a race to prove their superiority in every field. The space race was on to determine the first to explore the world beyond our planet’s atmosphere.
An early lead was taken by the Soviet Union when they launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, in 1957. This was a wake-up call for the United States, and it caught them off guard. The Americans were determined to catch up and overtake the Soviets in the space race.
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to travel into space in 1961. This was a huge milestone, and it put the Americans on notice. The United States was now determined to be the first country to land a human on the moon.
NASA’s Apollo program was launched to meet this new challenge. It was a massive undertaking that required the best and brightest minds in the country to work together.
650 million people worldwide saw the Apollo 11 mission and its craft being launched aboard the Saturn V.
The Apollo program was a huge success. On the 20th of July, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon.
The space race was a defining moment in human history. It was a testament to the power of human ingenuity and determination. It also showed that anything is possible if we set our minds to it.
How did the Apollo 11 mission and its craft get to the Moon?
Apollo’s mission was a challenging and risky endeavour. Our Moon is roughly 240,000 miles away from Earth, making it a difficult destination to reach. The first successful mission to land a person on the Moon was Apollo 11, but it was not the first Apollo mission.
Apollo 8 and 10 entered lunar orbit but they did not achieve their primary goal. During the launch of Apollo 1, the three-person crew were killed in a launchpad fire.
On the 16th of July, 1969, astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins launched aboard a Saturn 5 rocket. It was this rocket that propelled them out of Earth’s gravity and towards the Moon.
The Apollo 11 mission and its spacecraft: the Command Module Columbia, a Service Module and the Lunar Module Eagle.
In total, It took the mission and the astronauts four days, six hours and 45 minutes to get to the Moon.
The Eagle has landed
Lunar Module Eagle landed on the Moon at 8:17pm on 20 July 1969. The first words transmitted back to Earth were:
Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed – Neil Armstrong, Message to Mission Control in Houston, Texas
The Apollo 11 mission was a remarkable feat of human ingenuity and bravery. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the Moon in the Eagle module and Michael Collins remained on the Columbia for 28 hours.
Michael Collins served as a communications link and photographed the lunar surface. He captured stunning images that would inspire generations of space enthusiasts.
Mission accomplished, the crew landed back on Earth a success story. They had spent 8 days, 3 hours, 18 minutes and 35 seconds in space.
The Apollo 11 mission, and its craft, was a testament to human perseverance and technological advancement.
US President John F. Kennedy, who had set the goal of landing a man on the Moon, never got to see his dream come true. He was killed 6 years earlier, in 1963, but his legacy lived on through the Apollo program.
It was President Richard Nixon who made the first telephone call to the Moon, making it the longest-distance phone call ever made. The call was a testament to the incredible achievements of the Apollo 11 mission and the human spirit that made it possible.
Be First to Comment