Stories tagged Apollo 11
Footprint on the Moon: Astronaut Buzz Aldrin took a moment to document his own footprint on the Moon.
Courtesy NASAOn this day in 1969, less than nine years after President John F. Kennedy set the seemingly impossible goal of sending a man to the Moon and back, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on the Moon. He was joined a short time later by astronaut Edwin Aldrin. The two explorers spent two-and-a-half hours gathering moon rocks, setting up experiments, and planting the American flag, while astronaut Mike Collins orbited the Moon waiting to rendezvouz with the Lunar Module for the return trip to Earth. Here are lots of links about the Apollo lunar program
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Alan Shephard takes a mulligan: The Apollo 14 astronaut duffs one using a makeshift 6 iron. NASA wouldn't let him bring his own clubs.
Courtesy NASAThere are a couple new films out about the Apollo moon program. Well, at least they’re new to me since I haven’t seen them. I really enjoyed IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON when I saw it last fall, but I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff. I thought the Apollo program was the cat’s pajamas, and a high point of the good ol’ USA’s spirit of adventure and exploration. Not to mention our chutzpah for pulling off such an astounding feat in less than a decade from when we declared we were going to do so.
One giant sandtrap for mankind: Alan Shephard's duffed golf ball sets just in front of the near end of the javelin (or is it the shaft of his broken club?). According to NASA officials, he couldn't hit the broadside of a crater with a handful of moon dust.
Courtesy NASAThe first of the new films is the most recent. Its title is THE WONDER OF IT ALL and I guess deals with the human aspect of the adventures of the 12 men who walked on the Moon back in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The film played last weekend at Kennedy Space Center as a benefit for the US Space Walk of Fame in Titusville, Florida in hopes to drum up funds for a planned memorial there for the Apollo program and the astronauts involved.
According to the producers, the award-winning documentary tells “a humanistic story” through interviews with 7 of the Apollo astronauts, that details their lives and how each was affected by walking on the Moon.
The other film is called MAGNIFICENT DESOLATION and is an IMAX production in 3D. It was released in 2005 under the tutelage of none other than Forrest Gump, …er I mean Tom Hanks, who’s listed as producer, co-writer, and narrator. From what I understand, this film is more of a reenactment that simulates what the astronauts saw and did while on the Moon’s surface. It was shot in 3D on a soundstage, and according to Apollo 16’s Charlie Duke “It felt like you were on the Moon driving a rover with those guys. It brought me right back onto the lunar surface.” Hey, maybe they used the same stage where conspiracy theorists claim the real moon missions were faked (there has been criticism that the film provides fodder to those sorts). No matter. I still want to see it. Perhaps the Science Museum will bring it in for a run, if not for our visitors’ sake, at least for mine.
The Moon: Photo courtesy NASA.The new documentary IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON is both inspirational and awe-inspiring in its retelling of NASA’s Apollo program to place a man on the Moon by the end of the 1960s. The great thing about it is that it’s the Apollo astronauts themselves who tell the story.
Director David Singleton interviewed 10 of the remaining astronauts who had traveled to the Moon and back including Jim Lovell (Apollo 8 and 13), Gene Cernan (Apollo 10 and 17), Dave Scott (Apollo 15), Alan Bean (Apollo 12), Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17), Charlie Duke (Apollo 16), and Mike Collins and Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11). Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon, is not interviewed, but the notoriously reclusive astronaut appears quite a bit in the film, and of course can be heard taking his famous first step on the Moon’s surface.
Besides the many technical triumphs, the film also touches on some of the setbacks NASA faced in its race to fulfill president Kennedy’s seemingly impossible lunar-landing dream, including exploding Saturn V rockets, the Apollo 1 fire that killed three astronauts, and Apollo 13’s doomed mission.
I’m a big fan of the whole Man on the Moon adventure, so a lot of the NASA film footage used in the film was already familiar to me, but some scenes (especially one when Apollo 11’s command module heads off toward the Moon) were a complete surprise, and just seeing it all on the big screen was a real treat.
Astronaut Alan Bean on the adventure of his life: Photo courtesy NASA.The astronauts themselves – now in their seventies - come off much warmer and more human than I expected. Alan Bean, in particular, seemed like an exuberant child telling you all about the great amusement ride he got to go on.
So if you remember where you were when Neil Armstrong exclaimed “Houston, the Eagle has landed”, and even if you don’t - or even if you weren’t born yet – I recommend you see this really great film. You’ll relive, or experience for the first time, all the excitement of one of mankind’s boldest and greatest achievements.
Man on the Moon: One of few photographs showing astronaut Neil Armstrong on the lunar surface. Since he was the first to descend from the lunar module, he took most of the photographs of the event. Image courtesy NASA via Wikipedia.On this date in 1969, Apollo 11's lunar module, the Eagle, landed on the surface of the Moon in a region known as the Sea of Tranquility. About six hours later, US astronaut Neil Armstrong descended the spacecraft's ladder and became the first human to walk on the lunar surface.
Armstrong's words as he made the historic first step have long been considered redundant: "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."
But Armstrong has long claimed that he said "a man", and that the "a" was lost in an audio glitch due to inadequate technology. Recent analysis of the recording by an audio expert appears to vindicate Armstrong on this point.
Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin later joined Armstrong on the surface for more than two and a half hours of extravehicular activity, planting the American flag, shooting photographs, and collecting nearly 50lbs of lunar rock samples. During this time, astronaut Michael Collins orbited the Moon in the mission’s command module, Columbia, waiting patiently to bring them safely back to Earth.
The event was televised and watched worldwide and is considered one of the defining moments of human history.
FURTHER INFO
More on the first moon landing
More on Armstrong’s misquoted statement
One of few photographs showing astronaut Neil Armstrong on the lunar surface. Since he was the first to descend from the lunar module, he took most of the photographs of the event.
Image courtesy NASA via Wikipedia.
Please contact us if you have questions about the rights on this image.
The start of Apollo 11's historic adventure: Images courtesy NASA via Wikimedia Commons.On this date (July 16) 38 years ago, a Saturn V rocket blasted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida beginning the most extraordinary and historic adventure in human history: the first manned mission to land on the moon.
The Apollo 11 crew included commander Neil Armstrong, lunar module pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and command module pilot Michael Collins. The rocket reached Earth orbit in twelve minutes and made one and a half orbits. Not long after, the command service module and lunar module were docked together and sent on a trajectory toward the moon. The trip across the 225,000 miles of space would take slightly more than 3 days.
Images courtesy NASA via Wikimedia Commons.
Please contact us if you have questions about the rights on this image.
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