The Space Chronicles

Journey to the Moon PART-1

“But why, some say, the Moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? We choose to go to the Moon. We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills; because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.”

-John F. Kennedy

Human beings have been historically curious about their surroundings and the mystery of the cosmos. Man has always wanted to discover new land and colonies these lands.  One of man’s main amazement has been the moon. For centuries, Man was successful in colonising different parts of earth. But moon looked like an impossible dream for mankind. That was until the American government decided that it was time to send man to moon. Read more

Journey to the Moon PART-2

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
-Neil Armstrong

Finally, U.S president John Kennedy’s dream had come true. Apollo 11 was all set to take man to the moon.  Millions of dollars were spent. Thousands had sacrificed their sweat and blood into making this project a success.                           Apollo 11 had on board the greatest and most skillful astronauts on earth.

The Crew consisted of:

The Apollo 11 crew.

1. Neil Armstrong.
2. Michael Collins
3. Edwin “Buzz” E. Aldrin

LAUNCH:
A Saturn V launched Apollo 11 at the Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969 at 13:32:00 UTC. It entered orbit 12 minutes later. On July 20, 1969 the lunar module (LM) Eagle separated from the command module Columbia. As the descent began, Armstrong and Aldrin found that they were passing landmarks on the surface 4 seconds early and reported that they were “long”. They would land miles west of their target point.

Saturn V launching Apollo 11

LANDING:
When Armstrong  looked outside, he saw that the computer’s landing target was in a boulder-strewn area just north and east of a 300 metres (980 ft.) diameter crater (later determined to be “West crater”, named for its location in the western part of the originally planned landing ellipse). Armstrong took semi-automatic control. Apollo 11 landed with less fuel than other missions, and the astronauts also encountered a premature low fuel warning. This was later found to have been due to greater propellant ‘slosh’ than expected, uncovering a fuel sensor.

First Moon Walk:

Although the official NASA flight plan called for a crew rest period before extra-vehicular activity, Armstrong requested that the EVA be started sooner. Once Armstrong and Aldrin were ready to go outside, Eagle was depressurized, the hatch was opened and Armstrong made his way down the ladder first. Armstrong then turned and set his left boot on the surface at 2:56 UTC July 21, 1969, then spoke the famous words “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Armstrong had decided on this statement following a train of thought that he had after launch and during the hours after landing. About 20 minutes after the first step, Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface and became the second human to set foot on the Moon, and the duo began their tasks of investigating how easily a person could operate on the lunar surface. Early on they also unveiled a plaque commemorating their flight, and also planted the flag of the United States. The flag used on this mission had a metal rod to hold it horizontal from its pole. Since the rod did not fully extend, and the flag was tightly folded and packed during the journey, the flag ended up with a slightly wavy appearance, as if there were a breeze.

In the entire Apollo 11 photographic record, there are only five images of Armstrong partly shown or reflected. The mission was planned to the minute, with the majority of photographic tasks to be performed by Armstrong with their single camera. Armstrong’s final task was to leave a small package of memorial items to deceased Soviet cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov, and Apollo 1 astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. The time spent on EVA during Apollo 11 was about two-and-a-half hours.

Return To Earth:

After they re-entered the LM, the hatch was closed and sealed. While preparing for the liftoff from the lunar surface, Armstrong and Aldrin discovered that in their bulky spacesuits, they had broken the ignition switch for the ascent engine. Using part of a pen, they pushed the circuit breaker in to activate the launch sequence. The three astronauts returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.

After being released from an 18-day quarantine to ensure that they had not picked up any infections or diseases from the Moon, the crew were feted across the United States and around the world as part of a 45-day “Giant Leap” tour.

Legacy: