Neil Alden Armstrong – First Human on the Moon – Apollo 11
There are not many people on Earth who have not heard the name Neil Armstrong. He was the first human to walk on the Moon.
Neil’s left boot touched down on the surface of the moon on July 21, 1969 at 2:56 UTC as he climbed down the ladder of the ‘Eagle’ Lunar Module. He then spoke one of the most famous lines we’ll remember:
"That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Here is some interesting trivia from that historic mission:
Neil Armstrong was so in love with flying, he worked many jobs to pay for his flying lessons because his parents would not pay for them. He got his pilot’s license at the age of 16 before he could drive.
The Man on the Moon mission was set by American President John F. Kennedy as a race to be the first nation to put a man on the moon. The mission also included photographing the surface, collecting rock and soil samples and leaving some scientific equipment for seismic experiments and solar wind experiments. A Memorial Bag was also left behind with a silicon disk containing a message of peace from the leaders of 73 countries. A symbol of peace, an olive branch, made in gold was also left.
Apollo 11 was launched on July 16, 1969 by a Saturn V rocket at Cape Kennedy, Florida. It took four days for it to reach the moon’s orbit.
During the landing on the moon’s surface Commander Neil Armstrong noticed that the Lunar Module was headed toward an area full of boulders so he manually took over the controls to steer the craft toward a safe landing site. With only 45 to 50 seconds of burn fuel time left Neil Armstrong landed the module on the surface in the area called The Sea of Tranquility.
Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” E. Aldrin, Jr. accompanied Neil Armstrong on the moon’s surface 20 minutes after Neil descended the ladder. Buzz was initially planned to be the first man on the moon but his position in the small craft made it difficult to crawl over Neil to get to the door.
The astronauts needed to plan before taking their every step because the moon’s powdery surface was very dusty and slippery.
The moonwalk lasted 2 1/2 hours. The astronauts collected rock and soil samples and explored how easy it was to maneuver on the moon. An American flag and an Apollo patch was left on the surface as well as a plaque mounted to the Lunar Module descent ladder that read: Here Men From The Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We Came in Peace For All Mankind.
The circuit breaker needed to start the engine for liftoff from the moon back to Earth had been accidentally broken by the men moving around inside the Lunar Module with their big space suits on so they actually started the engine by pushing a pen tip into the hole.
The Command Module Pilot, Michael Collins, remained in space orbiting the moon in the “Columbia.” He would help dock the Lunar Module with the Columbia Module 15 hours later to safely bring all three men back down to Earth.
As the Lunar Module lifted off the moon, Buzz Aldrin looked through the window and saw that the American flag they planted on the moon had blow over from the exhaust from their engine.
The Command Module was named “Columbia” for the spacecraft in Jules Verne’s 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon. The Lunar Module was named “Eagle” for the American National Bird the bald eagle. Michael Collins designed the Apollo 11 insignia.
The Command module as well as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s astronaut suits are displayed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
After being in space for 8 days, the three men landed safely on Earth as the Columbia splashed into the Pacific Ocean on July 24th. The USS Hornet, a Navy aircraft carrier, picked them up in the ocean.
A lunar impact crater located in Mare Tranquillitatis (Latin for Sea of Tranquility) on the moon is named after Neil Armstrong. The asteroid, 6469 Armstrong (1982 PC) is named after Neil Armstrong. There is also the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum is located at 500 South Apollo Drive, Wapakoneta, Ohio, USA
Neil Armstrong’s private funeral was held in Ohio on August 31, 2012 on the day of a Full Blue Moon. A Blue Moon is the rare occurrence of two full moons in one calendar month.
A public service was held at Washington’s National Cathedral on September 13, 2012. “…the ‘Space Window’ (at the cathedral) got its name after Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins presented the cathedral with a 7.18-gram basalt lunar in 1974. The rock now sits embedded in the glass.”
Neil Armstrong, a navy fighter pilot before his “space days”, was buried at sea.
A message from Neil Armstrong’s family in their memorial statement read:
"For those who may ask what they can do to honour Neil, we have a simple request. Honour his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”
R.I.P. & Thank You
Neil Armstrong: (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) – 82 years old
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