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The
Apollo 11 crew from left to right: Neil Armstrong,
Commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and ,
Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot.
Shown above is the Apollo 11 crest. |
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| In President Kennedy's
speech to Congress, on May 25, 1961, he expressed a
concern that the United States was falling behind the
Soviet Union in technology and prestige. He challenged
the nation to put a man on the moon before the end of the
decade.
On July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 launched from
the Kennedy Space Center. |
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| On July 20, 1969, Commander
Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon. He said
the historic words, "That's one small step for a man, one
giant leap for mankind."
A camera in the Lunar
Module provided live television coverage as Neil
Armstrong climbed down the ladder to the surface of the
moon. |
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| The Lunar Module
"Eagle" consisted of two parts: the descent
stage and the ascent stage.
The descent state provided
the engine used to land on the moon. It had four legs, a
storage area for experimental gear, and a ladder for the
crew to climb down to the moon's surface. The descent
module also served as the launch platform for the ascent
module when it came time to leave.
The ascent module carried the crew back to the Command Service Module. |
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| To walk on the moon's
surface, the astronauts needed to wear a space suit with
a back mounted, portable life support system. This
controlled the oxygen, temperature and pressure inside
the suit.
On the surface, the astronauts had to get
used to the reduced gravity. They could jump very high
compared to on Earth.
The crew spend a total of two and a half hours on the
moon's surface. While on the moon's surface, the
performed a variety of experiments and collected soil and
rock samples to return to Earth. |
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| An American flag was left on
the moon's surface as a reminder of the accomplishment. |
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| In later moon landings, the
astronauts used the Lunar Rover vehicle to help explore
more of the moon's surface. |
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| The Command Service Module
"Columbia" consisted of two parts. The Command
Module is the cone at the top, or front in this picture.
The Command Module held the three man crew. It was the
control center during the mission. It also was the
re-entry vehicle for returning back to Earth.
The
Service Module at the bottom, or back in this picture,
provided the propulsion and maneuvering capability for
the space craft. |
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| After re-entering the
Earth's atmosphere, parachutes opened to safely lower the
Columbia into the Pacific Ocean. After landing in the
Ocean, the crew were retrieved by a helicopter and taken
to the recovery ship, the "USS Hornet."
The
crew and lunar samples were placed in quarantine until
their health and safety could be confirmed.
The Command Module "Columbia" returned to
Earth on July 24, 1969. Apollo 11 had successfully
completed its mission. President Kennedy's objective to
land men on the moon and return them safely to Earth had
been accomplished. |
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