Apollo 11

Apollo 11

Mission Insignia
Apollo 11 insignia Apollo 11 insignia
Mission Statistics
Mission Name:	Apollo 11
Call Sign:	Command module: Columbia Lunar module: Eagle
Number of Crew:	3
Launch:	July 16, 1969 13:32:00 UTC Kennedy Space Center LC 39A
Lunar Landing:	July 20, 1969 20:17:40 UTC Sea of Tranquility 0° 40' 26.69" N, 23° 28' 22.69" E [1] (based on the IAU Mean Earth Polar Axis coordinate system)
Lunar EVA length:	2 h 31 min 40 s
Lunar Surface Time:	21 h 36 min 20 s
Lunar Sample Mass:	21.55 kg
Landing:	July 24, 1969 16:50:35 UTC 13° 19' N — 169° 9' W
Time in Lunar Orbit:	59 h 30 min 25.79 s
Mass:	(see mission parameters)
Crew Picture
Apollo 11 crew portrait (L-R: Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin) L-R: Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin
Apollo 11 Crew

The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned lunar landing. It was the fifth manned mission in the Apollo program.

That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.
― Neil Armstrong

Crew

• Neil Armstrong, commander (and first to walk on the moon)
• Michael Collins, command module pilot
• Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot

Mission parameters

• Mass:
  • Launch mass: 2,923,387 kg
  • Total spacecraft: 46,678 kg
    • Command/Service Module (CSM) mass: 30,320 kg, of which CM was 5960 kg, SM 24,360 kg
    • Lunar module (LM) mass: 16,448 kg, of which ascent stage was 4985 kg, descent stage 11,463 kg
• Earth orbits: one and a half before leaving for Moon, about one on return
• Lunar orbits: 30

• Perigee: 190.6 km
• Apogee: 192.1 km
• Inclination: 32.521°
• Period: 88.18 min

• Perilune: 113.4 km
• Apolune: 312.1 km
• Inclination: 1.2°
• Period: 2.15 hours
• Landing Site: 0.6875° N — 23.47297° E or
  0° 40' 26.69" N — 23° 28' 22.69" E

LM - CSM docking

• Undocked: July 20, 1969 - 17:44:00 UTC
• Redocked: July 21, 1969 - 21:35:00 UTC

Moon walk

• LM hatch opened: July 21, 1969, 02:39:33 UTC

• Armstrong - EVA
  • LM egress: 02:51:16 UTC
  • Stepped onto moon: 02:56:15 UTC
  • LM ingress: 05:09:00 UTC

• Aldrin - EVA
  • LM egress: 03:11:57 UTC
  • Stepped onto moon: 03:15:16 UTC
  • LM ingress: 05:01:39 UTC

• LM hatch closed: July 21, 05:11:13 UTC
  • Duration: 2 hours, 31 minutes, 40 seconds

Mission highlights

On July 20, while on the far side of the moon, the lunar module, called "Eagle," separated from the "Columbia". Collins remained aboard Columbia while Eagle, carrying Armstrong and Aldrin, descended to the surface. After a careful visual inspection, Eagle fired its engine and began its descent. During the descent to the lunar surface, the astronauts noticed that the intended landing site was rockier than surveillance photographs had indicated. Armstrong took manual control of the lunar module at that point, and guided it to a landing at 4:17 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on July 20 with less than 30 seconds' worth of fuel left in the lunar module.

At 2:56 UTC, six and a half hours after landing, Armstrong made his descent to the moon surface and took his famous "one giant leap for mankind." Aldrin joined him, and the two spent two-and-a-half hours drilling core samples, photographing what they saw and collecting rocks.

Apollo 11 astronauts left footprints.

After more than 21½ hours on the lunar surface, they returned to Collins on board "Columbia," bringing 20.87 kilograms of lunar samples with them. The two Moon-walkers had left behind scientific instruments such as a retroreflector array used for the Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment. They also left an American flag and other mementos, including a plaque bearing two drawings of Earth (of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres), an inscription, and signatures of the astronauts and the U.S. President at the time. The inscription read:

Here Men From Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon July 1969 A.D. We Came in Peace For All Mankind.

The astronauts returned to earth on July 24, welcomed as heroes. The splashdown point was 13 deg 19 min N, 169 deg 9 min W, 400 miles SSW of Wake Island and 24 km (15 mi) from the recovery ship USS Hornet.

The command module is displayed at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.

File:Ap11-KSC-69PC-442.jpg

The Saturn V carrying Apollo 11 took several seconds to clear the tower on July 16, 1969.

A visible shockwave formed as the Saturn V encountered Maximum Dynamic Pressure (Max Q) at about 1-minute 20-seconds into the flight (altitude 12.5 km, 4 km downrange, velocity 1,600 km/hr).

Buzz Aldrin poses on the moon allowing Neil Armstrong to photograph both of them using the visor reflection.

Armstrong on lunar surface with visor raised. From 16mm film (NASA).

Aldrin stands next to the Passive Seismic Experiment Package with the Lunar Module in the background.

Astronauts walking on the moon had to shuffle to keep from taking gigantic steps.

See also

• Splashdown

External links

• NASA: Apollo Lunar Surface Journal
• Apollo 11 entry in Encyclopedia Astronautica
• USGS: Apollo Mission Traverse Maps
• Description of The Lunar Module Computer
• Record of Lunar Events

References

• Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference by Richard W. Orloff of NASA
• The Apollo Spacecraft: A Chronology
• Apollo Program Summary Report
• Apollo 11 Characteristics - SP-4012 NASA Historical Data Book
• Apollo Image Gallery
• "One Small Step" (mis-)quote

Preceded by : Apollo 10

Apollo program

Followed by : Apollo 12