Universe Today

Apollo 11 was the first space mission to successfully land man on the surface of the Moon. 17 words to sum up the most monumental accomplishment of the space program. NASA has set its eyes farther out, but no man has seen himself in a more spectacular solar destination. President John F. Kennedy said: " I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." Apollo 11 met that goal when it was launched on July 16, 1969. Mission Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon on July 20th, while Command Module Pilot Micheal Collins orbited above.

Apollo 11 was the second spaceflight for every member of the crew, making it the 3rd all veteran crew to go into space. The lunar module was named Eagle. The Command module was named Columbia for the feminine personification of the United States used traditionally in song and poetry. In addition to throngs of people crowding highways and beaches near the launch site, millions watched the event on television, with NASA Chief of Public Information providing commentary. President Richard Nixon viewed the proceedings from the White House.

Apollo 11 launched at 13:32 UTC atop a Saturn V rocket and entered orbit exactly 12 minutes later. After 1.5 orbits the third stage rocket pushed the spacecraft into its lunar trajectory. About 30 minutes later the command and service module pair separated from this last remaining Saturn V stage and docked with the lunar module still nestled in the lunar module adaptor. After the lunar module was extracted, the combined spacecraft headed for the Moon. On July 19 Apollo 11 passed behind the Moon and fired its service propulsion engine to enter lunar orbit. During the following 30 orbits, the crew saw passing views of their landing site in the southern Sea of Tranquility (Mare Tranquillitatis) about 20 kilometers southwest of the crater Sabine D (0.67408N, 23.47297E). The landing site was selected in part because it had been characterized as relatively flat and smooth by the automated Ranger 8 and Surveyor 5 landers along with the Lunar Orbiter mapping spacecraft and unlikely to present major landing or extra-vehicular activities (EVA) challenges.

There was a little known Soviet moon landing called Luna 15. Luna 15 was a last minute attempt to steal some of Apollo 11's publicity by being the first mission to return lunar soil to Earth, but after completing 86 communications sessions and 52 orbits of the Moon at various inclinations and altitudes, the spacecraft impacted the lunar surface on July 21, 1969. The mission was important in that it saw one of the first instances of Soviet/American cooperation when the USSR released Luna 15's flight plan to ensure it would not collide with Apollo 11.

The astronauts planned placement of the Early Apollo Scientific Experiment Package (EASEP)[18] and the U.S. flag by studying their landing site through Eagle's twin triangular windows, which gave them a 60° field of view. Preparation required longer than the two hours scheduled. Armstrong initially had some difficulties squeezing through the hatch with his Portable Life Support System (PLSS). A redesign of the LM to incorporate a smaller hatch had not been followed by a redesign of the PLSS backpack, so some of the highest heart rates recorded from Apollo astronauts occurred during LM exit and entry.

There were many more mission highlights and interesting facts. For the official NASA page on the mission, click here. There is another indepth article on the topic here. Here on Universe Today we have some of the conversations that were not broadcast to the public from Apollo 11. Astronomy Cast offers a nice episode about rockets in general.

Filed under: Astronomy | Comments Off

Of all the great astronauts (I know, they all are), Buzz Aldrin is undoubtedly the one who has managed to bring his popularity from the 60's and 70's well into the 21st century.

His name's easy for kids to recall especially after the showing of Pixar's Toy Story where a spaceman action figure named Buzz Lightyear (the film makers copied his first name) shares the limelight with Tom Hank's main character, Woody.

Earlier this year (2009), Buzz (not the action figure) collaborated with Snoop Dogg, Quincy Jones, Talib Kweli, and Soulja boy to record a rap single and video entitled "Rocket Experience". The recording was created to commemorate the 40th year since he and Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon to make "… one giant leap for mankind."

Actually, Neil Armstrong was the one who uttered those words and was the first to step on the moon. Buzz Aldrin followed right after, making him the second man to step on the lunar surface.

Buzz Aldrin was born in January 20, 1930 as Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr. However, since one of his sisters couldn't pronounce the word 'brother' correctly, repeatedly uttering 'buzzer' instead, the shortened version 'buzz' stuck.

After graduating from West Point in 1951, Buzz joined the US Air Force and was sent to the Korean War as a fighter pilot with a rank of Second Lieutenant. There, he managed to shoot down a couple of MiG-15s; one of which gave him the opportunity to take a photo of the pilot as he was ejecting. That photo landed on the June 8, 1953 issue of Life magazine.

He flew about 66 combat missions in that war before proceeding through a string of positions that included an aerial gunnery instructor, aide to the dean of faculty, flight commander, and finishing a doctorate degree at MIT.

In NASA, Buzz Aldrin was able to take part in the later Gemini missions. The last one, Gemini 12, saw him performing an EVA or Extra Vehicular Activity where he showed that astronauts could work outside their ship.

Then of course came his highly celebrated moon walk with his mission commander, Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969.

Even up to this day, Buzz Aldrin is actively campaigning for more daring space explorations. Aside from his rap recording, Buzz also targeted the younger generations through a computer game in 1993 named "Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space".

Universe Today has a book review on Buzz Aldrin's Magnificent Desolation. We've also covered his rap with Snoop Dog.

Aside from a long list of pages of him at NASA, Buzz Aldrin also has a website named after him.

Tired eyes? Let your ears help you learn for a change. Here are some episodes fromAstronomy Cast that just might suit your taste:
How Old is the Universe?
The Big Bang and Cosmic Microwave Background

Filed under: Astronomy | Comments Off

Walking on the moon was one of mankind's greatest technological feats and NASA's biggest success story. We all know about the very first successful landing and the two astronauts who first set foot on the moon, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong. But they were not the last astronauts to walk on the moon and go further than most humans have ever traveled. So, how many men have walked on the Moon?

Including the first two astronauts 12 men have walked on the moon. Looking at the development of the Apollo program it is not surprising. The entire Apollo program was a study in the gradual progression of technology until a successful moon landing and return. The first Apollo missions dealt with actually getting to the moon and coming back. Up until the Apollo 11 mission, no astronauts landed on the moon. They simply flew to it, did a flyby and returned. After the successful Apollo 11 mission of course the feat was repeated several times.

NASA launched 6 successful mission in all to the moon. The last was in 1972. There is very interesting information concerning these twelve astronauts. First off they are among only 24 people to actually see the far side of the moon. Second there were other famous astronauts other than Armstrong and Aldrin. Alan Shepard the commander of the Apollo 14 mission was the second man and first American in space. His mission was also the first to be broadcast in color television.

Apollo 17 was the last mission to the moon. The three astronauts on this mission were Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans and Harrison Schmitt. Their mission was also the first night launch occurring at midnight. Cernan and Schmitt became the very last astronauts to walk on the moon.

Another question that would probably be raised is if the lunar landings were so successful why didn't NASA or other nations plan more missions? The simple answer is lack of resources. The Apollo program at its peak cost 24 billion dollars. Even now the current NASA budget is only half of that amount. On top of that, the United States was going through a major recession in the latter half of the seventies so NASA had a curtailed budget and limited political will to launch any more missions. The Soviet Union was the only other government capable of a similar feat but they had already decided against the expenditure. The eventual collapse of the Soviet Union put a permanent end to any possibility of an attempt by a foreign government at the time.

If you enjoyed this article there are others on Universe Today that you will like. There is a great article on the Space Race. There is also a great article on Russian Cosmonauts.

There are also great resources on the web. The NASA website has extensive information on the Apollo program. The Smithsonian website also has a page with detailed information on each of the missions.

You can also check out Astronomy Cast. Episode 114, The Moon, Part 2 is about the history lunar exploration.

Filed under: Astronomy | Comments Off

Some things you just have to see to believe. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin recently cut a hip-hop song along with rappers Snoop Dogg and Talib Kweli. The website Funny Or Die has the music video of the song, "Rocket Experience. They also have the "making of" video of Buzz's song. Quincy Jones and Soulja Boy also make appearances. It's fun to watch, and Buzz really lets it all hang out – he's a very cool dude! And let's face it, everyone wants to see Buzz rapping about traveling in space, right? My favorite part is when Buzz is rapping while standing next to the famous cardboard cut-out of him standing on the Moon. (I have one of those…) Enjoy the video!

Also available: Download the song "Rocket Experience" on iTunes. A portion of the proceeds from the song sales of" Rocket Experience" will go to ShareSpace Foundation, to further benefit and support the work of the National Space Society, the Planetary Society and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 16 Comments »