Apollo 11 Mission
The Apollo mission is the second most significant event in the Space Age. This mission is the first to put a man in the nearest world...
Apollo 11 Mission
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| Command and Service Module (From Google Images) |
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| Saturn V (From Google) |
The rocket that took the satellite to the moon was Saturn V. It stood 111 m tall, was taller than the Statue of Liberty and consisted of four stages. It had a small structure called the Command Module, where the crew lived. It was attached to the Service Module, creating the system in the picture above. The Lunar spacecraft, consisting of a lander and lift-off module, was a separate structure to be docked by the mechanism in the front of the Command and Service Module (CSM) and taken to the moon.
Saturn V launched on 12 July 1969 from the Kennedy Space Center, USA, ejecting the CSM and Lunar Spacecraft off Earth's orbit. The CSM, removed first turned backwards and docked with the Lunar Spacecraft, forming the complete Apollo 11 Spacecraft. The spacecraft floats in the great depths of empty space for three days.
Reaching the moon, the Apollo 11 Spacecraft was split back into the CSM and Lunar Spacecraft. The CSM held one astronaut, Michael Collins while the Lunar Module housed Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. Neil Armstrong was given the charge of handling the Lunar Module, also known as the Eagle. When the CSM separated from the Lunar Module, it sent the Eagle flying onto the surface where it was slowed down.
Slightly Ominous Moment:
When the Eagle was making its descent, Neil Armstrong realized that their planned landing site, Mare Tranquillitis was unsafe. This caused them to overshoot for more than three miles, consuming more fuel. So now Neil had to check the fuel efficiency as well as a new landing site. Luckily they landed in a flat area with fuel left for just 30 seconds, making the site Tranquility Base, the first manned shelter on an alien world.
To confirm that they had landed, Neil Armstrong gave the legendary address:
"Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."
A Confusing Moment:
Back on Earth, confusion brewed up among the staff members. They tried asking the Men on the Moon about their present condition! Why?
You see, before Apollo 11, no one knew what existed on the surface of the Moon. What if the moon soil acted like quicksand? Or something worse? What if they trespassed into alien territory and were captured? Fortunately, there were none of these things. It was just plain rock and no aliens.
You see, before Apollo 11, no one knew what existed on the surface of the Moon. What if the moon soil acted like quicksand? Or something worse? What if they trespassed into alien territory and were captured? Fortunately, there were none of these things. It was just plain rock and no aliens.
Micheal Collins took command of the CSM, and Neil Armstrong landed the Eagle...
The Apollo 11 Astronauts had to trudge through the moon soil on foot. In later missions of Apollo, they carried an LRV (Lunar Roving Vehicle), a manned moon rover that used to cover distances quicker and had storage of above 27 kg of moon soil and rocks. The first moon rover was Lunokhod 1 (Russian: Moonwalker), a bathtub-shaped rover launched by the USSR.
Coming back to Apollo 11, where jumping in no gravity was only an option, the astronauts collected samples of moon rock and planted a flag.
The Eagle consisted of two parts, the upward lunar module that housed the astronauts and the Lander. Edwin Aldrin now took control of the upper module. The Eagle split into two parts, where Aldrin took off the upper part while the lander stayed put.
An Oops moment:
The Flag was accidentally placed close to the module. So when the module took off, its impact shook the flag and uprooted it. No one saw it falling, but later photographs of the site confirmed it.
After reaching the CSM, the lunar module docked with it, sending the three astronauts into the Command Module. The lunar module undocked and was abandoned in the great depths of empty space. The CSM turned and began its journey to the Earth.
After reaching the earth's atmosphere, the Service Module was jettisoned, and parachutes were deployed from the Command Module.
Slightly Ominous Moment:
The landing site on Earth was covered with bad weather. So again, the Service Module had to overshoot and land in the Pacific Ocean. The crew were then helped by a rescue helicopter.
Funny Moment:
The three astronauts were quarantined from the public for a few days and regularly tested. They didn't encounter aliens but probably alien microbes. If they were infected, it would be a disaster here on Earth. But they were discharged soon.
Some people find the Apollo 11 Mission controversial, but it was a great adventure to discover the unknown.
This is where I will conclude my post.
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Thank you for reading
Aditya VN Kadiyala
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