The Apollo program or project Apollo was the third U.S. spaceflight program conducted by NASA. Astronauts Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins left Earth in Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969. Four days later, man took his first steps on the moon. The astronauts in space and the NASA engineers overcame seemingly impossible obstacles to put a man on the moon. After landing, the team had to tackle unforeseen situations such as broken equipment and excessive trash.
To capture their moments in space, each astronaut was equipped with a special camera. The camera was mounted to their chests so they were able to easily take pictures. 11,000 plus images were taken during the entire mission and the Project Apollo Archive has uploaded it for all of mankind to enjoy. Here are 12 facts related to U.S. trips to the moon.
1. Neil Armstrong’s Famous Quote was Incorrectly Transmitted.
Neil Armstrong was the first human to step foot on the Moon. While taking the step, Neil quoted the famous line, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. Upon returning to Earth, Neil claimed that he was misquoted as his words were, “That’s one small step for a man,”. While talking to a biographer, he clarified that reasonable people will understand why he added an ‘a’ in the statement.
The Apollo 12 mission commander Pete Conrad was shorter than Neil Armstrong. Before taking his first step on the moon, he was quoted saying, “Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that’s a long one for me”.
2. President Nixon was Prepared for the Worst.
Nixon and his speech writer William Safire were both prepared for the worst. In case the astronauts didn’t make it back home safely, they had a tribute ready for them. The president would have read these poignant lines from his prepared speech:
“In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.”
3. Kangaroo Hopping on the Moon.
Apollo 11 was the first spaceflight that landed humans on the Moon. Mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the lunar module on July 20, 1969. Armstrong was the first to step on the moon and Aldrin joined him twenty minutes later. Together, they spent about two and a quarter hours collecting samples to return to Earth.
During that time, they both experimented on different ways to travel around the moon. They skipped, jumped and even did kangaroo hops to learn the effects.
4. Improvising on the Lunar Surface.
After spending two and a quarter hours outside the spacecraft collecting samples and experimenting, Armstrong and Aldrin returned to their lunar module. During this time, Aldrin noticed something laying on the lunar floor. It was a circuit breaker that triggers the main engine. This was a serious issue because the engine wouldn’t fire without it, possibly stranding them in the lunar surface.
They informed mission control and tried unsuccessfully to catch some sleep. When there was no other solution found by morning, Aldrin decided to use his felt-tipped pen. He pushed it in to opening where the circuit breaker was to be kept. Luckily, it held and they were able to fire the engine and get off the lunar surface.