Tuesday marks the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. Apollo11 took three US astronauts to the Moon and landed them. For the first time in human history on the surface of the planet’s satellite landed humans.
On July 20, 1969, mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle, taking tremendous leaps for mankind.
Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon as a result of the mission, while Buzz Aldrin came in second about 19 minutes later.
Michel Collins, another Nasa astronaut, piloted the spacecraft.
“That one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong’s first words from the moon were heard all over the Earth on this day in 1969.
While Alridn and Armastraon made the first crewed landing on the surface, Collins was the astronaut who flew the Apollo 11 command module Columbia around the moon. Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface six hours after landing on the moon. He spent nearly two and a half hours outside the spacecraft, followed by Buzz Aldrin.
The two astronauts collected 21.5 kg of lunar material, which made the journey back to Earth for analysis. Armstrong and Aldrin spent over 21 hours on the lunar surface at a site they named ‘Tranquility Base’They rejoined astronaut Collins in the command module Columbia and returned to Earth on July 24.
Millions of people around watched the live telecast of the mission. Following the success of the mission, NASA had described the landing as “the single greatest technological achievement of all time.”
July 20 became one of the most important days not just in the history of the US but also the world as the sky opened up to new explorations and possibilities. The achievements of the Apollo 11 made NASA step up its efforts for more missions to the world.
Neil Armstrong stated “turned the rocket engine off and the particles that were flying out radially from the bottom of the engine went all the way out over the horizon,” he claimed that he was “totally dumbfounded.”
“When I turned off the engine, they simply raced out beyond the horizon and vanished, as if the engine had been turned off for a week.
That was incredible.”
Aldrin also wrote about the event in his book “Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon.” He wrote that he “began jogging around” on the lunar surface shortly after landing.
“It felt like I was jogging in slow motion, with both of my feet floating in the air. Our relatively light-footed mobility was one of the sheer thrills of being on the Moon ” Aldrin wrote in his book.
Two Hollywood films based on this historical achievement were also released in 1996 & 2019. The films were directed by Norberto Barba and Todd Douglas Miller respectively.
