Revisiting the Apollo 11 Moon Landing Site
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"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind“. You have certainly heard the famous phrase spoken by Neil Armstrong, the first man to step on the moon, on the Apollo 11 expedition, carried out in July 1969.
The words spoken in one of the greatest technological, scientific and historical landmarks of humanity, went around the world, surpassing generations that study this moment in the primary series of school life. But what was the true impact of the expedition? What was the Apollo 11 Mission to the Moon? What was left behind? What is the context behind a mission like this? The answers can be found below.
How did the mission that put man on the moon come about?
A Apollo 11 Mission was part of what is known as the space race, one of the many disputes between United States e Soviet Union during the Cold War. The command module named Columbia was sent to the moon in July 1969, after a long development process.
Two important programs that preceded Apollo 11, collaborating for the final success of the mission, were Mercury and Gemini, the second fundamental for carrying out a series of tests: it was through Gemini that unmanned and manned expeditions were carried out between 1963 and 1966.
Also through this program NASA started its astronaut recruitment process. The tests carried out on the Gemini consisted of analyzing the functioning of the systems and equipment, the effect of staying in space on the human body and the approach and docking of the ships.
Initially, the Apollo program had been created to go through the lunar orbit, however, it was modified to enable a manned expedition to the moon. Thus, man first set foot on the lunar surface; a place no one has ever returned to since 1972, yet national governments and non-profit organizations hope to repeat the feat.
It took a decade of study before the man could be sent. Eight stages preceded Apollo 11 on the Moon, the first of which was called Apollo 1, which ended in a complete disaster. On January 27, 1967, three astronauts were launched into space. Gus Grisson, Edward White e Roger Chaffe, however an electrical failure caused a fire inside the capsule, resulting in the death of the three.
After the accident investigation, there were several changes to the program. The second expedition, named Apollo 4, took place on November 9, 1967, this time without a crew and with all stages successfully completed.
Next, Apollo 5 tested a lunar module landing on January 22, 1968, which was also successful. On April 14, 1968, Apollo 6 was launched, with the intention of carrying out tests similar to those of Apollo 4, however, the expedition had some execution failures that were promptly resolved.
On October 11, 1968, the first manned mission (after Apollo 1) was sent into Earth orbit, lasting 11 days and having astronauts on board. Wally Sihirra, Donn Eisele e walter cunningham, which even transmitted images in real time.
The last expedition carried out in 1968 took place on December 21, taking Frank Borman, James Lovell and Willaim Anders for the first time into lunar orbit, staying there for 20 hours.
The last two expeditions (Apollo 9 and 10) carried out moon landing tests (land landing), maneuvers and docking; both were manned and took place in March and May of 1969.
What was Apollo 11?
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin e Michael Collins entered lunar orbit with the mission of performing the first manned landing on the Moon and returning to Earth, however, the astronauts had secondary missions, such as exploring the Moon from the Eagle module, in addition to installing cameras to take the images. via satellite and allocation of sensors to measure the solar wind and seismic activity, retroreflectors and collection of samples of rocks and dust from the lunar soil.
20 kg of soil samples were collected, in addition to the installation of research devices, after 20 minutes of expedition, Armstrong raised the flag of the United States on the lunar soil. Among the crew of Apollo 11, barely Armstrong e Aldrin stepped on lunar soil, Collins was responsible for guiding the control module into lunar orbit.
The astronauts remained on the moon for 21 hours and 30 minutes and, after a seven-hour rest, began their return to Earth, 44 hours after the start of the expedition, completed on July 24, 1969.
How was the moon landing site?
A new radar system managed to capture new images of the moon, including the landing regions of the Apollo project missions, allowing detailed images to reach Earth without the need for people to go to the lunar soil. See how it is today, almost 50 years after the first mission was carried out.
Mission landing site Apollo 11 is known today as Tranquility Base (Base of Tranquility), located in the Sea Tranquillitatis, considered today as a great site of historical and scientific importance. The area also has a number of objects left by astronauts on the lunar surface, some of which are quite interesting.
Despite probably having deteriorated over time due to the intense heat and cold conditions of the lunar atmosphere, the flag of the United States was one of the most important objects left on the Moon. Planted in the ground and created with a mechanism to leave the American symbol standing, since there was no wind on the moon, the mission's landmark was knocked down when the Apollo 11 took flight to return to Earth.
In addition to the flag, other commemorative objects were left as a mark of human passage through lunar territory. For example, on the stairs of the base that served to support Apollo 11 in its landing, there is a metal plate with the signature of the flight crew and also of the president of the United States at the time, Richard Nixon.
Around the surface where the landing was performed, Buzz Aldrin also deposited other objects: an insignia from the Apollo 1 mission, in honor of the astronauts who died in a mission a year and a half earlier, in which the cabin caught fire; two commemorative medals honoring Soviet cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov, pioneers of space missions who were also killed in accidents. Finally, a disc containing messages from 73 leaders of state from different countries, as well as an olive branch as a symbol of global peace.
However, it wasn't just commemorative objects left on the Moon. On a scientific basis, a Seismometer was installed on the lunar surface, to measure the soil vibrations and transmit these data to Earth, where the NASA could analyze it more carefully, however, a few months later, it stopped working. A Lunar Laser Reflector was also installed, which is still active today and can return a ray of light in the same direction it was sent, being used to know the distance of our planet from the Moon.
What has been seen on other expeditions?
Man's last trip to the Moon took place just over three years after the first landing, in December 1972, being the last time the NASA carried out an expedition of this level, with Apollo 17.
There were plans to carry out new missions and continue with the Apollo project, however, a budget cut led to changes in plans. It was on Apollo 17 that the first scientist was sent to the moon.
The crew consisted of Eugene Cernan, mission commander; Ronald Evans, Command Module Pilot and Harrison 'Jack' Schmitt, Lunar Module Pilot and the first scientist trained for such expeditions.
Considered by NASA “the last, longest and most successful” manned moon landing mission, Apollo 17 made new discoveries on the lunar soil. In addition to setting up a scientific station for data transmission, the astronauts also collected surface samples, performed gravity measurements, and discovered orange soil amidst gray dust during the expedition's walks.
With the samples collected, it was discovered that the orange soil was composed of volcanic glass, in addition to being possible to observe that this material originated on the Moon itself and not in a collision with a meteorite.
Cernan and Schmitt remained a total of 22 hours and 4 minutes outside the lunar module, surpassing Armstrong and Aldrin's time during the Apollo 11.
Curiosities about the journey of man à moon
- The character Buzz Lightyear, from Toy Story, one of Pixar's most famous animations, was inspired by Buzz Aldrin, an astronaut who was on the Apollo 11 Mission. The astronaut's real name is Edwin Eugene Aldrin, but in his childhood he was nicknamed Buzzer ( cicada) due to the difficulty of his younger sister in pronouncing the word Brother (brother). Later the nickname became Buzz, a name that Aldrin adopted. Regarding the character, his first name is in honor of the astronaut, while the word "Lightyear" means light years, speed used to measure distances between stars in space;
- In 2018, a biography on Neil Armstrong written by Jay Barbree, a reporter who covered all 166 Armstrong flights, was released, the only one to achieve this feat;
- According to Greek mythology, Apollo, god of the sun, was closely associated with the colonizations carried out around the Mediterranean Sea, added to the fact that Apollo was the brother of Artemis, goddess of the Moon, the mission was named after him.
- Armstrong's first steps on the moon were broadcast to more than six million people.
Unfortunately, even with the most recent mission of the Orion I module being successful, with it landing on our planet a few weeks ago, new images of how the base is currently located have not been released, even though the trip has passed through Tranquility Base. According to NASA, while flying over the region, the place was not lit for photos to be taken.
However, humans intend to return to the Moon soon, as the US Government Space Agency intends to launch two new space missions in 2024 and 2025. The first, called Artemis 2, wants to reach the lunar surface, but without disembarking the passengers. Already the second, Artemis 3, aims to explore the South Pole of the natural satellite, where there is water in the form of ice.
Furthermore, during these new expeditions, the NASA intends to take two women, one of them non-white, to the moon for the first time.
Looking forward to future space missions? Tell us in the comments what are your expectations for the next Artemis flights.
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SOURCES: NASA, Neo, and The Atlantic
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