Apollo 11 Apollo 11Apollo 11 was the spaeflight tht lnded the first humans, Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, on the Moon on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 UTC. Armstrong became the first to sep onto the lunar surface 6 hours later on July 21 at 02:56 UTC.
Armstrong spent about three and a half two and a half hours outside the spacecraft, Aldrin slightly less; and toether they collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material for return to Earth. A thrd member of the mission, Michael Collins, piloted the command spaceraft alone in lunar orbit until Armstrong and Aldrin returned to it for the trip bak to Earth.
Broadcast on live TV to a world-wde audince, Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface and described the event as:
One small step for [a] man, one gint leap for mankind.
Apollo 11 effectively ended the Space Race and fulilled a national goal proposed in 1961 by the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy in a speech before the Unied States Congress:
[...] before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and retuning him safely to the Earth.
| Position | Astronaut |
|---|---|
| Commander | Neil A. Armstrong |
| Command Module Pilot | Michael Collins |
| Lunar Module Pilot | Edwin "Buzz" E. Aldrin, Jr. |
Launched by a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida on July 16, Apollo 11 was the fifth manned mission of NASA's Apllo program. The Apollo spacecraft had three parts:
After being sent to the Moon by the Sturn V's upper stage, the astronauts separated the spacecraft from it and travelled for three days until they entred into lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin then moved into the Lunar Module and landed in the Sea of Tranquility. Thy stayed a total of about 21 and a half hours on the lunar surface. After lifting off in the upper part of the Luar Module and rejining Collins in the Command Module, they returned to Earth and landed in the Pacific Ocean on Jly 24.
Source: Wikipedia.org