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Apollo 11


 
 
The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite....
. It was the fifth human spaceflight
Human spaceflight is space exploration with a human crew and possibly passengers, which is in contrast to robotic space prob...
 of Project Apollo and the third human voyage to the Moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Commander Neil Alden Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong is a former American astronaut, test pilot, and Naval Aviator who is widely known for being the first ...
, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins
Michael Collins is a former American astronaut and test pilot....
 and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr
Colonel Buzz Eugene Aldrin, Sc.D is an American pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 11, the fi...
. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to land on the Moon, while Collins orbited above.

The mission fulfilled President
The President of the United States of America is the head of state of the United States....
 John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy , also referred to as John F....
's goal of reaching the moon by the end of the 1960s, which he expressed during a 1961 speech:

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

Crew Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission.


Collins was originally slated to be the CMP on Apollo 8
Apollo 8 was the second manned mission of the Apollo space program, in which Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pil...
, but was removed for surgery on his back and replaced by Jim Lovell
James Arthur Lovell, Jr., Captain, USN, Ret....
.
Backup crew
Support crew

Flight directors

Nomenclature The lunar module
The Apollo Lunar Module was the lander portion of the Apollo spacecraft built for the US Apollo program to achieve the trans...
 was named Eagle after the bald eagle
The Bald Eagle , also known as the American Eagle, is a bird of prey found in North America, most recognizable as the ...
 depicted on the insignia; the bald eagle is the national bird of the United States
The United States of America, also known as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., and America, is...
.






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Timeline

1969   Apollo program: ''Apollo 11'' (Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins) lifts off toward the first landing on the Moon.

1969   The ''Apollo 11'' astronauts return from the first successful Moon landing, and are placed in biological isolation for several days, on the chance they may have brought back lunar germs. The airless lunar environment is later determined to preclude microscopic life.






Encyclopedia


The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the Moon
Moon

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite....
. It was the fifth human spaceflight
Human spaceflight

Human spaceflight is space exploration with a human crew and possibly passengers, which is in contrast to robotic space prob...
 of Project Apollo and the third human voyage to the Moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Commander Neil Alden Armstrong
Neil Armstrong

Neil Alden Armstrong is a former American astronaut, test pilot, and Naval Aviator who is widely known for being the first ...
, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins
Facts About Michael Collins (astronaut)

Michael Collins is a former American astronaut and test pilot....
 and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr
Buzz Aldrin

Colonel Buzz Eugene Aldrin, Sc.D is an American pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 11, the fi...
. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to land on the Moon, while Collins orbited above.

The mission fulfilled President
President of the United States Overview

The President of the United States of America is the head of state of the United States....
 John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald Kennedy , also referred to as John F....
's goal of reaching the moon by the end of the 1960s, which he expressed during a 1961 speech:

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

Crew

Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission.
  • Neil A. Armstrong
    Neil Armstrong

    Neil Alden Armstrong is a former American astronaut, test pilot, and Naval Aviator who is widely known for being the first ...
     (2) - Commander
  • Michael Collins
    Michael Collins (astronaut)

    Michael Collins is a former American astronaut and test pilot....
     (2) - Command Module Pilot
  • Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr.
    Buzz Aldrin

    Colonel Buzz Eugene Aldrin, Sc.D is an American pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 11, the fi...
     (2) - Lunar Module Pilot


Collins was originally slated to be the CMP on Apollo 8
Apollo 8

Apollo 8 was the second manned mission of the Apollo space program, in which Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pil...
, but was removed for surgery on his back and replaced by Jim Lovell
Jim Lovell

James Arthur Lovell, Jr., Captain, USN, Ret....
.

Backup crew

  • James A. Lovell, Jr
    Jim Lovell

    James Arthur Lovell, Jr., Captain, USN, Ret....
     - Commander
  • William A. Anders - Command Module Pilot
  • Fred W. Haise, Jr
    Fred Haise

    Fred Wallace Haise, Jr. is a former NASA astronaut....
     - Lunar Module Pilot

Support crew


  • Charles Moss Duke, Jr.
    Charles Moss Duke, Jr.

    Charles Moss Duke, Jr., was a United States astronaut for NASA....
    , Capsule Communicator
    Flight controller

    Flight controllers are personnel who aid in the operations of a space flight, working in Mission Control Centers such as NAS...
     (CAPCOM)
  • Ronald Evans
    Facts About Ronald Evans

    Ronald Ellwin Evans, Jr. was a NASA astronaut....
    , CAPCOM
  • Owen K. Garriott
    Owen K. Garriott

    Owen Kay Garriott, Ph.D. is a former NASA astronaut who spent 60 days aboard Skylab in 1973 and 10 days aboard Spacelab-1 in...
    , CAPCOM
  • Don L. Lind
    Don L. Lind

    Don Leslie Lind, Ph.D. is a former NASA astronaut who was born in Midvale, Utah on May 18, 1930....
    , CAPCOM
  • Ken Mattingly
    Ken Mattingly

    Thomas Kenneth "Ken" Mattingly II, Rear Admiral, USN was an American astronaut who flew on the Apollo 16, STS-4, and STS-51-...
    , CAPCOM
  • Bruce McCandless II
    Bruce McCandless II

    Captain Bruce McCandless II is a former naval aviator with the United States Navy and NASA astronaut....
    , CAPCOM
  • Harrison Schmitt
    Harrison Schmitt

    Dr. Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt is a geologist, astronaut and former U.S....
    , CAPCOM
  • Bill Pogue
  • Jack Swigert
    Jack Swigert

    John Leonard 'Jack' Swigert, Jr., was a NASA astronaut. ...


Flight directors


  • Cliff Charlesworth, launch and EVA
    Facts About Extra-vehicular activity

    Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth and outside of his or her spacecraft....
  • Glynn Lunney
    Glynn Lunney

    Glynn S. Lunney is a retired NASA engineer....
    , lunar ascent
  • Gene Kranz
    Gene Kranz

    Eugene F. "Gene" Kranz is a retired NASA flight director and manager....
    , lunar landing

Nomenclature

The lunar module
Apollo Lunar Module Overview

The Apollo Lunar Module was the lander portion of the Apollo spacecraft built for the US Apollo program to achieve the trans...
 was named Eagle after the bald eagle
Bald Eagle Overview

The Bald Eagle , also known as the American Eagle, is a bird of prey found in North America, most recognizable as the ...
 depicted on the insignia; the bald eagle is the national bird of the United States
United States Summary

The United States of America, also known as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., and America, is...
. The command module was named Columbia, a traditional, feminized name for the United States
United States

The United States of America, also known as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., and America, is...
 used in song and poetry. The name may also have been chosen in reference to the columbiad
Columbiad

The Columbiad was a large caliber, smoothbore, muzzle loading cannon able to fire heavy projectiles at both high and low tra...
 cannon used to launch the moonships in Jules Verne
Jules Verne

Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author and a pioneer of the science-fiction genre....
's novel From the Earth to the Moon
From the Earth to the Moon

From the Earth to the Moon is a humorous science fiction story written in 1865 by Jules Verne and is one of the earliest...
. Some internal NASA planning documents referred to the call signs as Snowcone and Haystack but these were quietly changed before being announced to the press.

Mission highlights


Launch and lunar landing
In addition to throngs of people crowding highways and beaches near the launch site, millions viewed the event on television. President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974....
 viewed the proceedings from the Oval Office of the White House.


A Saturn V
Saturn V

The Saturn V was a multistage liquid-fuel expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs....
 launched Apollo 11 from the Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center

The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA space vehicle launch facility near Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island in Florid...
 on July 16, 1969 at 13:32 UTC (9:32 a.m. local time). It entered orbit 12 minutes later. After one and a half orbits, the S-IVB
S-IVB

References* Marshall Space Flight Center, ', 1st Feb. 1964...
 third-stage engine pushed the spacecraft onto its trajectory toward the Moon with the Trans Lunar Injection
Trans Lunar Injection Summary

Trans Lunar Injection is a term describing the propulsion maneuver used to set a spacecraft on a trajectory which will inter...
 burn. About 30 minutes later the command/service module
Apollo Command/Service Module

olspan="3" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="skyblue"|North American Apollo CSM...
 pair separated from the last remaining Saturn V stage and docked with the lunar module still nestled in the Lunar Module Adaptor
Apollo spacecraft

The Apollo spacecraft was designed as part of the Apollo Program, by the United States in the early 1960s to land men on the...
.





On July 19 Apollo 11 passed behind the Moon and fired its service propulsion engine to enter lunar orbit. In the thirty orbits that followed, the crew saw passing views of their landing site in the southern Sea of Tranquility about 20 kilometers (12 mi) southwest of the crater Sabine D (0.67408N, 23.47297E). The landing site was selected in part because it had been characterized as relatively flat and smooth by the automated Ranger 8
Ranger 8 Summary

Ranger 8 was designed to achieve a lunar impact trajectory and to transmit high-resolution photographs of the lunar surface ...
and Surveyor 5
Surveyor 5

Surveyor 5 was the fifth lunar lander of the Surveyor program that explored the Moon....
landers along with the Lunar Orbiter mapping spacecraft and unlikely to present major landing or extra-vehicular activity
Extra-vehicular activity Summary

Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth and outside of his or her spacecraft....
 (EVA) challenges.

On July 20, 1969 the lunar module
Apollo Lunar Module

The Apollo Lunar Module was the lander portion of the Apollo spacecraft built for the US Apollo program to achieve the trans...
 Eagle separated from the command module Columbia. Collins, alone aboard Columbia, inspected Eagle as it pirouetted before him to ensure the craft was not damaged.

As the descent began, Armstrong and Aldrin found that they were passing landmarks on the surface 4 seconds early and reported they were "long". They would land miles west of their target point. The LM navigation and guidance computer
Apollo Guidance Computer

The Apollo Guidance Computer was the first recognizably modern embedded system, used in real-time by astronaut pilots to col...
 distracted the crew with several unusual program alarms. Inside Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas
Facts About Texas

Texas is a state in both the Southern and Western region of the United States of America....
, computer engineer Jack Garman
Jack Garman

John R. "Jack" Garman is a computer engineer, former senior NASA executive and a noted key figure of the Apollo 11 lunar lan...
 told guidance officer
Flight controller

Flight controllers are personnel who aid in the operations of a space flight, working in Mission Control Centers such as NAS...
 Steve Bales
Steve Bales

Steve Bales is a former NASA engineer and flight controller....
 it was safe to continue the descent and this was relayed to the crew. When Armstrong again looked outside he saw that the computer was taking them to a 100m crater surrounded by large boulders. Armstrong took semi-automatic control (not "manual" control as popularly believed
) and with Aldrin calling out altitude and velocity data, landed at 20:17 UTC on July 20 with about 25 seconds of fuel left.

The program alarms were "executive overflows"; the computer could not process all of its tasks in real time. Contrary to popular belief this was neither a "computer error" nor an astronaut error. The cause was in hardware: a fast stream of spurious interrupts from the rendezvous radar positioner that only occurred when the hardware powered up in a certain random way that could not occur in ground tests.
Although unneeded for the landing, the radar was intentionally turned on in the event of an abort.

Although Apollo 11 landed with less fuel than other missions, they also encountered a premature low fuel warning. It was later found to be caused by the lunar gravity permitting greater propellant 'slosh' which had uncovered a fuel sensor. On future missions extra baffles were added to the tanks.

Buzz Aldrin spoke the first words (albeit technical jargon) from the LM on the lunar surface. Throughout the descent Aldrin had called out navigation data to Armstrong, who was busy piloting the LM. As Eagle landed Aldrin said, "Contact light! Okay, engine stop. ACA - out of detent." Armstrong acknowledged "Out of detent" and Aldrin continued, "Mode control - both auto. Descent engine command override off. Engine arm - off. 413 is in."

Then Armstrong said the famous words, "Houston, Tranquility Base
Tranquility Base

Tranquility Base is also the name of a trance music group: ...
 here. The Eagle has landed." Armstrong's abrupt change of call sign from "Eagle" to "Tranquility Base" caused momentary confusion at Mission Control. Charles Duke, acting as CAPCOM during the landing phase, acknowledged their landing, expressing the relief of Mission Control after the unexpectedly drawn-out descent.

Shortly after landing, before preparations began for the EVA
Extra-vehicular activity

Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth and outside of his or her spacecraft....
, Aldrin broadcast that:

He then took Communion
Eucharist

The Eucharist or Communion or The Lord's Supper, is the rite that Christians perform in fulfillment of Jesus' in...
 privately. At this time NASA was still fighting a lawsuit brought by atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair
Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Madalyn Murray O'Hair was an American atheist who founded American Atheists, and campaigned for the separation of church and...
 (who had objected to the Apollo 8
Apollo 8

Apollo 8 was the second manned mission of the Apollo space program, in which Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pil...
crew reading from the Book of Genesis) which demanded that their astronauts refrain from religious activities while in space. As such, Aldrin chose to refrain from directly mentioning this. He had kept the plan quiet (not even mentioning it to his wife) and did not reveal it publicly for several years. (NOTE: Buzz Aldrin was an elder at Webster Presbyterian Church in Webster, TX. His communion kit was prepared by the pastor of the church, the Rev. Dean Woodruff. Aldrin described communion on the moon and the involvement of his church and pastor in the October, 1970 edition of Guideposts magazine and in his book "Return to Earth." Webster Presbyterian possesses the chalice used on the moon, and commemorates the Lunar Communion each year on the Sunday closest to July 20.)

Lunar ascent and return


Aldrin entered Eagle first. With some difficulty the astronauts lifted film and two sample boxes containing more than 22 kg (48 lb) of lunar surface material to the LM hatch using a flat cable pulley device called the Lunar Equipment Conveyor. Armstrong reminded Aldrin of a bag of in his pocket sleeve, and Aldrin tossed the bag down; Armstrong then jumped to the ladder's third rung and climbed into the LM. After transferring to LM life support
Life support

Life support, in the medical field, refers to a set of therapies for preserving a patient's life when essential body systems...
, the explorers lightened the ascent stage for return to lunar orbit by tossing out their PLSS backpacks, lunar overshoes, one Hasselblad
Hasselblad

Hasselblad is a Swedish manufacturer of high-quality still photography cameras based in Gothenburg, Sweden....
 camera, and other equipment. They then repressurised the LM, and settled down to sleep.

While moving in the cabin Aldrin accidentally broke the circuit breaker that armed the main engine for lift off from the moon. There was initial concern this would prevent firing the engine, which would strand them on the moon. Fortunately a felt-tip pen was sufficient to activate the switch. Had this not worked, the Lunar Module circuitry could have been reconfigured to allow firing the ascent engine.

After about seven hours of rest, they were awakened by Houston to prepare for the return flight. Two and a half hours later, at 17:54 UTC, they lifted off in Eagle's ascent stage, carrying 21.5 kilograms of lunar samples with them, to rejoin CMP Michael Collins aboard Columbia in lunar orbit.

After more than 2½ hours on the lunar surface, they had left behind scientific instruments such as a retroreflector
Retroreflector

A retroreflector is a device that sends light or other radiation back where it came from regardless of the angle of incidenc...
 array used for the Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment
Lunar laser ranging experiment

The ongoing Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment measures the distance between the Earth and the Moon using laser ranging....
. They also left an American flag
Flag of the United States

The flag of the United States consists of 13 equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle ...
, an Apollo 1
Apollo 1

Apollo One is the official name given retroactively to the Apollo/Saturn 204 spacecraft, destroyed by fire during a t...
 mission patch, and a plaque (mounted on the LM Descent Stage ladder) bearing two drawings of Earth (of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres), an inscription, and signatures of the astronauts and Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974....
. The inscription read Here Men From The Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We Came in Peace For All Mankind.
They also left behind a memorial bag containing a gold replica of an olive branch as a traditional symbol of peace, the Apollo 1 patch, and a silicon message disk. The disk carries the goodwill statements by Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon and messages from leaders of 73 countries around the world. The disc also carries a listing of the leadership of the US Congress, a listing of members of the four committees of the House and Senate responsible for the NASA legislation, and the names of NASA's past and present top management. . (In his 1989 book, Men from Earth, Aldrin says that the items included Soviet medals commemorating Cosmonauts Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin

Colonel Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin , was a Soviet cosmonaut who in 1961 became the first human in space and the first human t...
.) Also, according to Deke Slayton's book 'Moonshot', Armstrong carried with him a special diamond-studded Astronaut pin from Deke.

Film taken from the LM Ascent Stage upon liftoff from the moon reveal the American flag, planted some from the descent stage, whipping violently in the exhaust of the ascent stage engine. As the landing site receded out of the camera field of view, the flag appeared ready to topple, but whether it did in fact fall or not is unknown. (However, according to Buzz Aldrin, during the lunar ascent, "The ascent stage of the LM separated ...I was concentrating on the computers, and Neil was studying the attitude indicator, but I looked up long enough to see the flag fall over.") Subsequent Apollo missions usually planted the American flags at least from the LM to avoid being blown over by the ascent engine exhaust.

After rendezvous with Columbia, Eagles ascent stage was jettisoned into lunar orbit at 21 July 1969 at 23:41 UT (7:41 PM EDT). Just before the Apollo 12 flight, it was noted that Eagle was still orbiting the moon. Later NASA reports mentioned that Eagle's orbit had decayed resulting in it impacting in an "uncertain location" on the lunar surface.

On July 23, the three astronauts made a television broadcast on the last night before splashdown. Collins commented, "... The Saturn V rocket which put us in orbit is an incredibly complicated piece of machinery, every piece of which worked flawlessly ... We have always had confidence that this equipment will work properly. All this is possible only through the blood, sweat, and tears of a number of a people ...All you see is the three of us, but beneath the surface are thousands and thousands of others, and to all of those, I would like to say, 'Thank you very much.'" Aldrin said, "... This has been far more than three men on a mission to the Moon; more, still, than the efforts of a government and industry team; more, even, than the efforts of one nation. We feel that this stands as a symbol of the insatiable curiosity of all mankind to explore the unknown ... Personally, in reflecting on the events of the past several days, a verse from Psalms comes to mind. 'When I consider the heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the Moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man that Thou art mindful of him?'" Armstrong concluded, "The responsibility for this flight lies first with history and with the giants of science who have preceded this effort; next with the American people, who have, through their will, indicated their desire; next with four administrations and their Congresses, for implementing that will; and then, with the agency and industry teams that built our spacecraft, the Saturn, the Columbia, the Eagle, and the little EMU, the spacesuit and backpack that was our small spacecraft out on the lunar surface. We would like to give special thanks to all those Americans who built the spacecraft; who did the construction, design, the tests, and put their hearts and all their abilities into those craft. To those people tonight, we give a special thank you, and to all the other people that are listening and watching tonight, God bless you. Good night from Apollo 11."

On July 24, the astronauts returned home and were immediately put in quarantine. The splashdown point was , 2,660 km (1,440 nm
Nautical mile

ame= nautical mile|m= 1852|accuracy=3 ...
) east of Wake Island
Wake Island

Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of 12 miles in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of t...
, or 380 km (210 nm) south of Johnston Atoll
Johnston Atoll

Johnston Atoll is a 130 km atoll in the North Pacific Ocean at , about one-third of the way from Hawai'i to the Marshall Isl...
, and 24 km (15 mi
Mile

A mile is the name of a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including Englis...
) from the recovery ship, USS Hornet
USS Hornet (CV-12)

The eighth USS Hornet was originally named USS Kearsarge, but renamed in honor of the CV-8, which was lost in Octobe...
. After recovery by helicopter approximately one hour after splashdown
Splashdown (spacecraft landing)

Splashdown is the method of landing a spacecraft by parachute in a body of water....
, the astronauts were placed in a trailer that had been designed as a quarantine facility. President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974....
 was aboard the recovery vessel to personally welcome the astronauts back to Earth.



The astronauts were placed in quarantine
Facts About Quarantine

Quarantine is enforced isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous ....
 after their landing on the moon due to fears that the moon might contain undiscovered pathogen
Pathogen Overview

A pathogen or infectious agent is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its host....
s, and that the astronauts may have been exposed to them during their moon walks. However, after almost three weeks in confinement (first in their trailer and later in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory
Lunar Receiving Laboratory

The Lunar Receiving Laboratory is a facility at NASA's Lyndon B....
 at the Manned Spacecraft Center
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center is NASA's center for human spaceflight located in southeast Houston, Texas....
), the astronauts were given a clean bill of health. On August 13, 1969, the astronauts exited quarantine to the cheers of the American public. Parades were held in their honor in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles on the same day. A few weeks later, they were invited by Mexico for a parade honoring them in Mexico City.

That evening in Los Angeles there was an official State Dinner to celebrate Apollo 11, attended by Members of Congress, 44 Governors, the Chief Justice, and ambassadors from 83 nations. President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974....
 and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew honored each astronaut with a presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom Summary

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is one of the two highest civilian awards in the United States, considered the equivalent ...
. This celebration was the beginning of a 45-day "Giant Leap" tour that brought the astronauts to 25 foreign countries and included visits with prominent leaders such as Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

}|-||}Elizabeth II is the Queen of 16 independent sovereign states known as the Commonwealth Realms....
 of the United Kingdom. Many nations would honor the first manned moon landing
Moon landing

The first moon landing by a human was that of American Neil Armstrong, commander of the Apollo 11 mission, accompanied by Bu...
 by issuing Apollo 11 commemorative postage stamps or coins. Also, a few POWs held in Vietnam
Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a conflict in which the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and its allies fought against the Republic of Vi...
 received letters from home a few months after the landings with those stamps to covertly let the POWs know that the United States had landed men on the moon.

At the 27th World Science Fiction Convention
27th World Science Fiction Convention

The 27th World Science Fiction Convention, also known as St....
 in St. Louis, MO, the three astronauts received a special Hugo
Hugo Award

The Hugo Award is given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy works of the previous year....
 award for "(t)he Best Moon Landing Ever."

On September 16, 1969, the three astronauts spoke before a joint session of Congress
Joint session of the United States Congress

Joint Sessions of the United States Congress are the gathering together of both House and Senate which occur on special occa...
 on Capitol Hill. They presented two U.S. flags, one to the House of Representatives and the other to the Senate, that had been carried to the surface of the moon with them.

The command module is displayed at the National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum

The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in the United States maintains the largest collection of ai...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. is the capital city of the United States of America....
. It is placed in the central exhibition hall in front of the Jefferson Drive entrance, and shares the main hall with other pioneering flight vehicles such as the Spirit of St. Louis
Spirit of St. Louis

The Spirit of St. Louis was a custom airplane used by Charles Lindbergh to make the first solo, non-stop trans-Atlantic ...
, the Bell X-1
Bell X-1

The Bell X-1, originally XS-1 was the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound in controlled, level flight....
, the North American X-15
North American X-15

The North American X-15 rocket plane was perhaps the most important of the USAF/USN X-series of experimental aircraft, after...
, Mercury
Project Mercury

Project Mercury was the United States' first successful manned spaceflight program....
 capsule Friendship 7, and Gemini 4
Gemini 4

Gemini 4|-!colspan="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FFDEAD"|Mission insignia...
. The quarantine trailer is displayed at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center annex near Washington Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport

Washington Dulles International Airport serves the greater Washington, D.C./metropolitan area....
 in Virginia.

Mission insignia

The familiar patch of Apollo 11 was designed by Collins, who wanted a symbol for "peaceful lunar landing by the United States". He picked an eagle as the symbol, put an olive branch
Olive branch

Olive branch is a colloquial term referring to a concession or a gesture of peace, as well as a peace symbol....
 in its beak, and drew a moon background with the earth in the distance. NASA officials said the talons of the eagle looked too "warlike" and after some discussion, the olive branch was moved to the claws. The crew decided the Roman numeral XI
11 (number)

11 is the natural number suceeding 10 and preceding 12....
 would not be understood in some nations and went with Apollo 11; they decided not to put their names on the patch to "allow it to symbolize everyone who worked on the moon landing". All colors are natural, with blue and gold borders around the patch. The LM was named Eagle to match the insignia. When the Eisenhower dollar coin
Eisenhower Dollar

The Eisenhower Dollar is a dollar coin issued by the United States government from 1971–1978 The Eisenhower Dollar fol...
 was revived a few years later, the patch design provided the eagle for the back of the coin. The design was kept for the smaller Susan B. Anthony dollar
Susan B. Anthony dollar

The Susan B. Anthony dollar is a United States coin minted between 1979 and 1981, and again in 1999....
, which was unveiled in 1979, the 10th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.

See also

  • Apollo 11 in popular culture
    Apollo 11 in popular culture

    A number of memorabilia, urban myths and incidental stories surround the Apollo 11 mission, including controvers...
  • Extra-vehicular activity
    Facts About Extra-vehicular activity

    Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth and outside of his or her spacecraft....
  • List of spacewalks
  • Splashdown
    Splashdown (spacecraft landing)

    Splashdown is the method of landing a spacecraft by parachute in a body of water....
  • List of artificial objects on the Moon
    List of artificial objects on the Moon Summary

    The following table is a partial list of artificial objects on the surface of the Moon....
  • Google Moon
    Google Moon Summary

    Google Moon is a service similar to Google Maps that shows satellite images of the Moon....
  • Apollo Moon Landing hoax conspiracy theories

Photo gallery



Further reading and external links



- NASA Website honoring the mission
  • , left on the moon by Buzz Aldrin.
  • - National Geographic News, 2004-07-16 - 35th anniversary; Steven Dick, NASA's chief historian: '...a thousand years from now, that step may be considered the crowning achievement of the 20th century.'


  • - Matt Wallace - Opinion column reminiscing about the Apollo 11 Moon landing and its cultural impact on the 30th anniversary published 18 July 1999 in the (Greensboro, NC) News & Record; "And there was the moon, which was why this was no typical child's summer."

For young readers


  • Aldrin, Buzz. Reaching for the Moon. HarperCollins, 2005, 40 pages, ISBN 978-0-060-55445-3
  • Thimmesh, Catherine. Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon. Houghton Mifflin, 2006, 80 pages, ISBN 978-0-618-50757-3

NASA reports


- 200+ pages

- 200+ pages
- Timeline of the mission

Multimedia


- Transcripts and audio clips of important parts of the mission
- Hundreds of high-resolution images of the mission, including assembled panoramas. Captions written by Eric M. Jones
- Several maps showing routes of moonwalks
Extra-vehicular activity

Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth and outside of his or her spacecraft....

- with lunar landing sites tagged
  • Video
  • Audio
  • Audio
  • QTVR panoramas
  • from takeoff to splashdown - Video