Apollo 11

Apollo 11 was the first mission to land a man on the moon. It was launched on a Saturn V rocket at at 9.32am local time (EDT) on July 16, 1969 from Pad 39-A from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA.  It was the fifth manned mission in the Apollo Program.

The Apollo 11 Crew

The Apollo 11 crew were:

 - Neil Armstrong (Commander),
 - Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin (Lunar Module Pilot) and
 - Michael Collins (Command Module Pilot).

The back up crew were:

 - James Lovell (Backup Commander),
 - Fred Haise (Backup Lunar Module Pilot) and
 - William A. Anders (Backup Command Module Pilot).

Apollo 11 Mission

The crew for Apollo 11 was announced in January 1969. 29 astronauts trained for the Apollo missions to the Moon. Neil Armstrong was chosen as the Commander and Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin was the Lunar Module Pilot and Michael Collins was the Command Module Pilot.

The astronauts blasted off on a Saturn V rocket at at 9.32am EDT on July 16, 1969. The Command Module was called Columbia and the Apollo Lunar Module was called Eagle. The launch weight of the Saturn V was 2,923,387 kg and the total spacecraft weight was 46,678 kg. The Command Service Module weighed 30,320 kg (CM was 5960 kg, Service Module: 24,360 kg). The Lunar Module weighted 16,448 kg, of which ascent stage was 4985 kg and the descent stage 11,463 kg.

The Translunar injection was at 12:16pm EDT. The Command Service Module and the Lunar Module (CSM-LM) docked at 12:56pm. The spacecraft went into lunar orbit insertion at 1:21pm on July 19. The CSM-LM separated at 2:11pm on July 20.

Lunar Exploration

The Lunar Module spent 21 hours 36 minutes on the lunar surface and the crew spent 2 hours 31 minutes outside the Lunar Module. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin deployed various instruments and the American Flag. They collected 21 kg (46 lb) of moon rocks and soil.

The astronauts left behind scientific instruments such as a retro reflector array used for the Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment, an American Flag and other mementos, including a plaque.

Departure

Using the descent stage of the LM as a launching platform, the ascent stage of the Lunar Module lifted off from the moon's surface at 1:54pm on July 21 to rendezvous and dock with the Command Service Module. There was less than 30 seconds of fuel remaining when the Lunar Module took off. The LM-CSM docked at 5:34pm EDT.

The total time in Lunar Orbit for the Command Module was 59.5 hours with 30 orbits. The Lunar Module ascent stage was left in lunar orbit.

Splashdown on Earth

The Command Module (Apollo Capsule) was the only part of the whole Saturn V / Apollo Spacecraft to return through the Earth's atmosphere. The Command Module used parachutes to land. It splashed down in the Pacific Ocean safely at 12:50pm EDT on July 24, 1969.

The splashdown location was 13 deg 19 min N, 169 deg 9 min W, 400 miles (640 km) SW of Wake Island, North Pacific Ocean and was 24 km (15 miles) from the U.S.S Hornet  recovery ship.

The astronauts returned to Earth with first samples from anther planetary body. The total mission duration of Apollo 11 was 8 Days, 03 Hours, 18 Min. 35 Seconds (July 16 - 24, 1969).

As a precautionary measure, the astronauts were quarantined for 14 days.

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