Apollo 11 Mission: Details And Speculations

Man made his first step on the moon in 1969 on July 20th. This was a huge victory for NASA and the United States. This historic day is an important milestone in American history. It will be remembered for many other space missions and discoveries. I will be focusing on the details of Apollo 11, which was the first manned lunar landing. Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins were the astronauts on Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong was the fifth child of Wapakoneta and Ohio residents on August 5, 1930. Armstrong attended Purdue University in Aeronautical Engineering and Purdue University in Aeronautical Engineering. He also served during the Korean War. Janet Shearon, was his first marriage. They were married to Janet Shearon until 1994. They had three kids, Eric, Karen, and Mark Armstrong. On June 12, 1994 he was married to Carol Held Knight again. They were still married until Armstrong’s untimely death. He joined NASA in 1962. He was the command pilot for Gemini Vlll’s 1966 launch. This was his first mission. He was the third astronaut to reach the moon. Neil Armstrong, who was 82 years old, died August 25, 2012 due to complications from a heart operation. Buzz Aldrin was also born January 20, 1930 in Montclair (New Jersey). Prior to being recruited by NASA, he was a fighter pilot during the Korean War. Although he isn’t married now, he was married to three women. Joan Archer was his first wife, and they were married from 1954 through 1974. Beverly Van Zile married him in 1978. Lois Driggs Cannon was his second wife. They were married from 1988 until 2012. Gemini 12, NASA’s first mission to space, was his first. He was also the Apollo 11 moon module pilot. This mission saw him become the second man ever to walk on the Moon. Aldrin, currently 89, is still alive. Michael Collins was birth in Rome on October 30, 1929. Collins married Patricia Finnegan on October 30, 1930 in Rome, Italy. They were married until her passing in 2014. They had three children together: Ann Collins, Michael Collins, and Kate Collins. In 1952, he graduated with a Bachelor in Science from Westpoint. In 1966 he took part in Gemini 10, which was his first space flight. This mission was his first spacewalk. Apollo 11 didn’t actually take him to the moon. Instead, his command module assigned him to stay there. He is now 88. The Presidential Medal of Freedom was awarded to all three astronauts. Collins was not awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but people often forget about Collins’ contribution to the mission. Instead, Armstrong and Aldrin are credited for their success. July 16, 1969, was the date that the Saturn V rocket would launch to put astronauts in orbit. Richard Nixon, the president, is pursuing John F. Kennedy’s goal of placing a man in orbit by 1970. It has 363 feet of height and a thrust of about 7.5Mlb. It launches at 9:32 AM at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. It has reached Earth’s orbit at 9:44 AM. Ground control then informs them they are ready for translunar injectables. This means that they can now move towards the moon. Three days later, the astronauts successfully entered the lunar orbit. Buzz Aldrin (Neil Armstrong) and the Columbia (the command module) leave and enter Eagle, the lunar module. Michael Collins remains in Columbia and continues orbiting the moon. However, the Eagle was not able to land on the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility. Armstrong had to take control of the Eagle manually when it came close to landing. It had attempted to land in an area with boulders that would have made it unstable and Armstrong had to do so. The Eagle’s computer system started sounding alarms just seconds before it would land. These alarms, however, were caused by an Eagle trying to do multiple things at once. In reality, they only have 30 seconds fuel left. They land on the moon on July 20, 1969 at 4:08 pm. Armstrong reports back to mission command after landing and says, “Houston Tranquility base here. The Eagle arrived successfully. The momentous moment is captured by Kennedy Space Center’s viewers. After their successful landing they will take their first steps onto the moon. Over half a billion people tune in to television to watch the live broadcast, hoping to catch an astronaut emerge from Eagle. Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon at 10:56 pm. As the world watches, he remarks, “That’s a small step for an man, one huge leap for humanity’ (Dunbar). Buzz Aldrin follows Armstrong to the moon’s surface and becomes the second human to do so. They will take photos and collect samples over the next two-and-a-half hours. NASA will use these samples to make new discoveries. They also leave behind a lot. Armstrong and Aldrin have a flag of America planted on the moon in remembrance for the Apollo 1 tragedy. All three astronauts aboard died in the accident. A plaque was also left by the Eagles that said, ‘Here are the first men from Earth to set foot on the Moon. July 1969 A.D. All mankind came in peace. The men then blast off from the moon’s surface to join Collins in his command module. The three men were all thrown into the Pacific Ocean by the Columbia, just off the coast from Hawaii, on July 24, 1969. Kennedy’s final wish is fulfilled. America was the first nation to send a man to the moon and return him to his family. Many scientific experiments were also made possible by the Apollo 11 mission. The astronauts brought many samples back from the moon that scientists learned a lot. These discoveries have been incredibly helpful and will be a great help to us. Apollo 11 was the first time we had geological samples of the moon. Armstrong and Aldrin transported 22 kilograms (22 kilos) of materials to Earth. Armstrong and Aldrin carried 22 kilograms of material back to Earth. This includes more than 50 rocks and soil taken from the lunar surface. The samples returned by them did not contain any evidence of life, no matter how simple or complex. There was also no water. These particular samples did not support the existence of life on the moon. They found two main types rocks at their landing spot: basalt & breccia. Basalts can be defined as rocks formed from moltenlava. Basalts are dark gray in color and can often be found in Hawaii with its high volcanic rock content. Basalt is responsible the dark spots that we see in the sky when we look at the moon. Basalt on Earth is most commonly made of plagioclase or pyroxene. The basalt can be found at the

Moon is very much like Earth, with a large amount of pyroxene as well as plagioclase. The main difference between lunar and terrestrial basalt is its titanium concentration. The lunar basalt contained a higher level of pure titanium than we previously knew. Further investigation revealed that lunar basalt is likely to have originated from two different sources. The rock was also between 3.6 and 3.9 billion years of age. Breccia is a rock made up of fragments from older rocks. Breccia formation is quite simple. Over the course of its existence, the moon was hit multiple times by meteorites. The moon’s surface is hit by multiple meteorites, which smash and break down dormant rock into small fragments. Meteorites can cause great heat and pressure to be applied onto the rock fragments. These pressure and heat can cause them possibly to bond. Breccia is formed from this. Breccia is easily visible to the naked eye due to the multitude of shapes, sizes, and colors it is made from. There are two major contributors in breccia: lunar basalt and lunar highlands rocks. Anorthosite is the most common type of rock found in the lunar highlands. They are made mostly of plagioclase and are often very light-colored. This was an unexpected discovery as it is very unlikely that rocks made entirely of plagioclase will ever be discovered. But, these rocks are extremely common on Earth. The moon’s crust is made up of anorthosite. The magma Ocean was the name given to the moon’s molten surface at the time of crust formation. The anorthosite, a pure piece of plagioclase that was abundant, moved freely through this magma sea. There are always people who speculate about any new and shocking scientific breakthrough. The moon landing attracted more conspiracy theories than ever. Many Americans didn’t believe that the moon landing was real, and instead suggested that it was a Hollywood production. They believed it was taped. NASA must have kept the whole thing quiet. Even today, people still insist that the moon landings were faked. These are their reasons. Van Allen belts are one reason why people don’t believe Apollo 11. This conspiracy is most well-known. The Van Allen belts simply consist of two large radiation belts. They wrap around the Earth and are compressed by high-energy particles. These high-energy particles are also hit by the sun’s wind. These high-energy bands are thought to be too dangerous for humans, according to some theories. NASA was already familiarized before the Apollo 11 flight with the Van Allen bands. We learned all about the Van Allen belts through missions such as the Explorer, Luna, Pioneer, and Explorer in the 1950’s. The Sun’s activity is constant in changing the intensity of radiation emanating from these belts. This is something to be aware of. The radiation intensity was low enough to make Apollo 11 launch safe. Radioactive sickness could have resulted if the astronauts didn’t get to experience safe conditions at the Van Allen Belts. Radiation is measured in units called ‘rads’. Radiation sickness can be defined as being exposed to between 200 and 1,000 rads over a period of three hours. The astronauts were exposed to 18 rads in a two-hour journey through Van Allen belts. This meant that they were not affected by radiation. The spaceship that reached the Moon was carefully insulated so that radiation could not penetrate. It was found that Collins, Aldrin, Armstrong and Aldrin received less radiation than they would in an X-ray machine. NASA scientific evidence and statistics disprove this theory. The famous flapping flag conspiracy is another popular theory. The flag that Neil Armstrong put in the moon was fluttering in the wind. Some people believe that the lack of air on the moon is an indication that we have faked the landing. This is also a clear answer. The flag was not flapping, it was stationary. It is easy to see this when you look at the flag on the Moon. The flag is held in place by a pole. A connecting pole runs along the flag’s tip to prevent it rolling up. When the astronauts put the flag on the Moon, the flag shape was wrong. The moon does not have strong gravity so the flag was in its original shape after being stuck to the ground by astronauts. It had to twist and screw in to reach the ground. This probably contributed to its similarity to a flag that would be found in a wing. All the video evidence that we have shows it in the exact same position as when it reached the moon’s surface. We will be celebrating 50 years since the first astronauts ever to walk on the moon by Americans this July 20. Many others have been able to visit the moon over the years. NASA became stronger and better after the Apollo 11 mission. Its incredible impact will be remembered by the entire world.