Apollo 11
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Launched: 16 July 1969 UT 13:32:00 (09:32:00 a.m. EDT)
Neil A. Armstrong, commander |
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The Apollo 11 spacecraft was part of the first mission in which humans landed on the lunar surface and returned to earth. The spacecraft consisted of three modules -- a lunar module (LM), a command module (CM), and a service module, which was linked to the command module to form the command service module (CSM). The spacecraft mass of 28,807 kg is the mass of the CSM including propellants and expendables. After the spacecraft orbited the moon, the LM and CSM separated. Two astronauts in the LM (Commander Neil A. Armstrong and LM pilot Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr.) landed on the lunar surface at the sea of tranquility (0.67 deg N latitude and 23.49 deg E longitude), while one (CM pilot Michael Collins) remained in lunar orbit in the command module. Scientific studies were performed, and soil and rock samples were acquired by the astronauts during a moonwalk. The men returned to the LM, docked the LM and the CSM, and returned to earth. The Apollo 11 spacecraft was launched on July 16, 1969 and was injected into lunar orbit on July 19. The LM (69-059C) landed on the moon on July 20, 1969 and returned to the command module on July 21. The command module left lunar orbit on July 22 and returned to earth on July 24, 1969. A laser ranging retroreflector and a passive seismograph experiment were left on the moon. The performance of the spacecraft was excellent throughout the mission. Apollo 11 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 24 July 1969 at 16:50:35 UT (12:50:35 p.m. EDT) after a mission elapsed time of 195 hrs, 18 mins, 35 secs. 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 Apollo 11 Command Module is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. |
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Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, descends the steps of the Lunar Module (LM) ladder as he prepares to walk on the Moon. He had just egressed the LM. This picture was taken by Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, with a 70mm lunar surface camera. | ) (47k) |
Astronaut Edwin F. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, walks on the Moon near a leg of the Lunar Module during Apollo 11 extravehicular activity. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, Apollo 11 commander, took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera. The astronauts footprints are clearly visible in the foreground. | ||||||||||
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Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, prepares to deploy the Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package (EASEP) on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera. In the foreground is the Apollo 11 35mm stereo close-up camera. | ) (49k) |
Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, poses for a photograph beside the deployed United States flag during Apollo 11 extravehicular activity on the lunar surface. The Lunar Module "Eagle" is on the left. The footprints of the astronauts are clearly visible in the soil of the moon. This picture was taken by Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, with a 70mm lunar surface camera. | ||||||||||
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Close-up view of an astronaut's footprint in the lunar soil photographed with a 70mm lunar surface camera during the Apollo 11 extravehicular acitivty on the moon. | ) (53k) |
Astronaut Edwin F. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, faces the camera as he walks on the Moon during Apollo 11 extravehicular activity. The plexiglass of his helmet reflects back the scene in front of him, such as the Lunar Module and Astronaut Armstrong taking his picuture. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, Apollo 11 commander, took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera. The astronauts footprints are clearly visible in the foreground. | ||||||||||
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Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, is photographed during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity on the Moon. He has just deployed the Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package (EASEP). In the foreground is the Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSEP); beyond it is the Laser Ranging RetroReflector (LR-3); in the left background is the black and white lunar surface television camera; in the far right background is the Lunar Module. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera. | ) (24k) |
The Apollo 11 Lunar Module ascent stage, with Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. aboard, is photographed from the Command and Service Modules in lunar orbit. This view is looking west with the earth rising above the lunar horizon. Astronaut Michael Collins, command module pilot, remained with the Command/Service Module in lunar orbit while Armstrong and Aldrin explored the Moon. The Lunar Module is approaching from below. The mare area in the background is Smyth's Sea. At right center is International Astronomical Union crater no. 189. | ||||||||||
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