Mission Apollo 11: On a day like today, 49 years ago, man walks on the moon

On a day like today, on July 21, 49 years ago, man managed to walk on the lunar surface, an event that is important to remember, because this is part of the history of mankind.

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The Apollo 11 mission was a manned space program organized by the United States and its main objective was for a human being to walk on the surface of the Moon. This mission was sent to space on July 16, 1969, that day from Cape Kennedy in the United States, the Saturn V rocket was launched, which would propel Apollo XI towards the Moon. Four days later, on July 20, the crew reaches the surface of the Moon. Everyone in the world was alert to any news about this trip, as there was some uncertainty about whether these astronauts could arrive and return from this long journey, and on July 21, the world receives the good news: "Armstrong stepped on the Luna", pronouncing his famous phrase: "A small step for man, but a great leap for humanity ". Then his partner Edwin Aldrin Jr. followed him and became the second person to walk on the surface of the Moon.

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Tests to try to travel to the moon

The attempts to reach the Moon, with unmanned probes, began in 1958, the year in which EE. UU UU Launched, unsuccessfully, the Pioneer probes. In 1959, the Russians managed to crash with the Lunik probe on the lunar surface, and in the same year they photographed the hidden face of the moon with another probe, which produced a real sensation, later the probes of the North American Ranger, which crashed on the Moon's surface, he took close-up photographs of the Moon.

SourceThe manned space voyage began in 1961, when Gagarin, with the Vostok I, surrounded the Earth and it was in 1966 when the Russian probe Lunik 9, landed smoothly and revealed that the Moon had a relatively firm surface, capable of supporting moderate weights; then it was admitted that the man could really put his foot on the moon.

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The trip to the Moon, a historic event of great importance for humanity

Finally, after many tests and with the help of the Lunar Orbitter series, placed in orbit around the Moon, the Americans obtained the necessary cartographic documentation for the manned moon landing, which after four tests with the spacecraft manned with Apollo VII- X, enough to schedule the first trip with the crew bound for the Moon, with the spacecraft Apollo 11.

Map data of the Moon

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The expected day for the trip to the Moon

On July 16, 1969, the trip to the moon came true, when the countdown to the takeoff of the Saturn V rocket began, and on July 20, 1969, at 21.17 Spanish time, the astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin landed. Aldrin, with the lunar module Eagle (Eagle), in the Sea of Tranquility. Armstrong descended to the lunar surface on July 21, at 2:56 (UTC international time), placing his boot on the left foot on the surface, followed by Aldrin. Meanwhile, his companion Michael Collins, aboard the Columbia, remained in orbit around the Moon.

Left foot on the lunar surface

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Armstrong on the lunar surface

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The Crew of the Apollo XI

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Objective of the Apollo Mission

The main objective of the mission was to take the man to the Moon, collect samples of the selenite surface and leave experimental equipment that would work after the astronauts returned to Earth.

For about two and a half hours, the astronauts walked on the lunar surface, which turned out to be firm and easily passable; They took a large number of photographs, collected about 30 kg of lunar material and placed scientific devices on the ground.

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"Surrounded by footsteps, on the lunar dust, rests a panel about 60 cm wide covered by 100 mirrors pointing at the Earth: the" lunar laser measurement retroreflective matrix "(reflectors LR-3)"

SourceThe Apollo XI astronauts, Edwin Aldrin and Neil Armstrong placed these panels there, on July 21, 1969, one hour before their last lunar walk, this is the only scientific experiment of the Apollo, which has allowed to measure the exact distance between Earth and its natural satellite, which today we know is 384,403, and this is achieved by pointing to these reflectors, a telescope with a powerful laser beam to measure the time when the beam of light returns to Earth.

On July 21, at 18.54, the cockpit of the command module took off from the moon and on July 24 this module landed in the Pacific Ocean. However, until August 11, the three astronauts could not leave the quarantine to which they had been subjected immediately after the landing, so that possible microorganisms from the Moon could not infect the Earth.

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Characteristics of the Saturn V rocket

SourceThe design of Saturn V, was in charge of the German scientist Wernher von Braun and his team. liquid fuel. This spacecraft was driven by three phases that are activated successively and eliminated when consumed. The Apollo 11 weighed about 45 tons, located at the top, as you can see in the figure, the complete rocket weighed almost 2900 tons. This special ship is launched from Earth, aided by the rotation of this, then this rotation is adjusted in the orbit, when phase three is turned on at this stage, the speed increases to send the Apollo ship out of the orbit of the Earth and place it on the road to the Moon.

SourceAs for the Command Module and the Service Module, these are inverted and the first one is coupled to the Lunar Module that is extracted from the third phase, then the ship is braked to enter the orbit of the Moon and two men go to the Moon Module and "Alunizan", the Service and Command Modules continue in orbit, after 24 hours on the Moon, part of the cockpit of the Lunar Module engages in the orbit with the rest of the ship, after this coupling, the men return to the Command Module, the lunar Module cockpit is still in orbit and the two Modules, the service and command modules, begin their return to Earth and abandon the Eagle lunar module.

Return to Earth Command and Service Module

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Mission Time

The day for the takeoff was July 16, 1969, the arrival on the Moon on the 21st and the return to Earth on the 24th. In total it would be 8 days.

Contributions of the Apollo XI Mission

After this mission it was known that:

The Moon was part of the Earth, but a planet about the size of Mars grazed the Earth's planet and the fragments that spread through space approached each other and increased to form the Moon.
The Apolo XI mission took samples of materials that later, with a geological study, we know about the formation of the Moon.
Also, thanks to the reflectors that were placed on the lunar surface, it was possible to know that the Moon is 3 centimeters away from the Earth.

For years we have been listening and reading issues that have questioned the arrival of man to the moon, there are those who claim that it was a movie, others criticize when watching the American flag flies, if there is no air on the Moon. Or that the quality of the photographs look amazingly good, with the NASA logo so bright. Also, if it was arrived, why have not we returned? Why is not there a spatial base up there? How is it possible that radiations or Van Allen belts were evaded?

The truth is that the journey of Apollo XI to the Moon, was undoubtedly a historical fact, which at that time caused great enthusiasm and interest in what was happening, where it was estimated that the world audience at that time, was 450 million listeners

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