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Moon Landing

On July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 rocket launched from Florida carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins on a mission to land on the moon. Four days later, the lunar module Eagle separated from the command module Columbia and landed on the moon's Sea of Tranquility with only seconds of fuel remaining. Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon, uttering the famous words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." After collecting samples for two hours, Armstrong and Aldrin returned to Columbia and splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969, marking the success of the United States in achieving the goal of landing astronauts on the moon.

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55 views1 page

Moon Landing

On July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 rocket launched from Florida carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins on a mission to land on the moon. Four days later, the lunar module Eagle separated from the command module Columbia and landed on the moon's Sea of Tranquility with only seconds of fuel remaining. Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon, uttering the famous words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." After collecting samples for two hours, Armstrong and Aldrin returned to Columbia and splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969, marking the success of the United States in achieving the goal of landing astronauts on the moon.

Uploaded by

nesanovita89
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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On Wednesday 16 July 1969, the space rocket, Apollo 11 stood on the NASA launch pad at the

Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. It was hoped that its success would crown the USA as leaders in the
space race, ahead of the USSR. Seven months earlier, Neil Armstrong, Edwin Buzz Aldrin and Michael
Collins had been named as the astronauts to man the craft on its historic voyage.
The rocket had two distinct sections: the lunar module, named Eagle by the crew, which was to
separate fro the main craft and take Armstrong and Aldrin to the moon’s surface; and Columbia, the
command module, which was piloted by Collins.
At 9.32 am, the rocket was launched into the sky. By 9.35 am, it had disappeared from view.
Four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin crawled into Eagle through a tunnel in the rocket. Eagle
separated from Columbia and travelled towards the moon’s surface while Columbia orbited the moon
until it was time to re-engage with Eagle. Twelve minutes away from landing, panic struck. Lights
flashing on the cockpit console indicated the computer was overloaded. Armstrong and Aldrin waited
nervously for instructions from Mission Control in Houston, Texas. Minutes later, the order came
through to keep going.
As they came closer to the surface, the astronauts saw that the Sea of Tranquillity, where they
were due to land, was a mass of rocks and boulders, Armstrong had to find a clear spot or he would
risk breaking one of the craft’s landing legs. With only 20 seconds of fuel left, he landed the craft
safety. All over the world, people herd Armstrong’s words:
‘Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed!’
Armstong and Aldrin, dressed in their moon suits, were eager to perform one of the most
significant events in world history. With a television camera attached to his equipment, the whole
world witnessed Neil Armstrong step backwards from Eagle and take the first step on the moon. As he
did so, he uttered his most famous quote:
‘That’s one small step for man…one giant leap for mankind’
Following tradition, Armstrong and Aldrin planted their national flag to indicate that the United
States of America was the first nation to land on the moon.
For two hours, the astronauts took photographs, collected samples and set up experiments. It
was then time to be picked up by Collins in Columbia. Once back on board, Eagle was discarded and
Columbia headed for home.
On 24 July, after eight days in space, the craft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and splashed down
in the Pacific Ocean. Misson accomplished; the space race to the moon was over.
In the years since space exploration began, there have been great successes and disastrous
failures in the quest for greater knowledge and understanding of our planet’s solar system. But for as
long as resources will allow, exploration beyond our planet is set to continue.

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