Apollo 11 Quiz – The First Humans to Land on the Moon

President Kennedy issued an unprecedented challenge for America – to send a man to the Moon and back before this decade was up – yet many problems had to be overcome for it to become a reality.

Before the Apollo missions, scientists knew little of what lay beyond our planet’s atmosphere and surface. But after astronauts brought back lunar rocks from space exploration missions, everything changed drastically.

What was the name of the spacecraft that landed on the moon?

On July 16, 1969, with millions watching around the world, Apollo 11 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center carrying Commander Neil Armstrong (1925-2012), Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin for their maiden voyage of mankind’s exploration of space. After reaching lunar surface and taking one step on its surface – Armstrong declared “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind!” – nearly 650 million people tuned in worldwide to witness it all unfold before them.

The Apollo 16 mission successfully fulfilled its primary objective by landing and returning a crewed lunar module (LM). When they had collected it from lunar surface, the astronauts docked it with Columbia for transport back home. While docking, however, during an inadvertent gimbal lock occurred which caused some slight rotation for several seconds on landing platform; although annoying for astronauts but not severe enough to require abort. Decision for continuation lay with CapCom (Command/Control for LM descent), which turned out to be 26 year old Steve Bales known by nickname Guido during flight; for his decisive decision that saved lunar landing he received Presidential Medal of Freedom Award.

At the lunar surface, the astronauts captured several pictures and collected samples of its environment and atmosphere before planting a United States flag and conducting several simple scientific tests before returning to Collins in the CSM.

As soon as the Lunar Module left Earth orbit, it was jettisoned and sent into lunar orbit. Once back aboard their CSMs, astronauts completed maneuvers to return it on a trajectory back home, taking eight days until splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.

What did Neil Armstrong say when he landed on the moon?

Neil Armstrong famously spoke the famous words, “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”, upon setting foot onto the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969. Twenty minutes after landing, astronaut Buzz Aldrin joined Neil. Their journey was broadcast live to millions around the globe on television.

This flight marked a key turning point in the Cold War space race and further cemented America’s preeminence in science and technology. Armstrong himself had flown Gemini 8 mission back in 1966 prior to being appointed commander of Apollo 11.

Born in Wapakoneta, Ohio in 1928 and educated as an aeronautical engineering professor at Purdue University. Later he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a fighter pilot before joining NASA as a test pilot before being selected as part of Apollo 11 mission crew.

On the lunar surface, he took photographs and conducted experiments that were relayed back to Earth through video recordings. Additionally, he planted the U.S. flag and wrote a short message which was printed onto a plaque left behind on the moon surface.

At the lunar landing, Armstrong’s voice was muffled by an airlock vent in his lunar module, making it hard to discern what exactly he said. However, he has stated that he said “one small step for man,” and this claim has been supported by recent analysis conducted by linguistics experts. Their experts analyzed audio from the lunar landing and concluded there wasn’t enough time for both “for” and “mankind,” leading them to conclude it’s likely Armstrong did indeed say the iconic line “one small step for man,” contrary to his claim; even without his claim it’s evident he meant to say this iconic phrase!

Who was the only scientist to visit the moon?

On July 5, 1969, five days prior to setting foot on the moon, Apollo 11’s Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin were performing final inspections inside their tiny Columbia command module – no larger than an interior of a large car – serving as their home for nearly four weeks of lunar exploration.

Mission Apollo 16 was an enormous endeavor; it involved eight years, 10 practice missions, 400,000 engineers, scientists and technicians working around the clock for eight years and cost $24 billion (about $100 billion in today’s dollars).

NASA needed an in-depth knowledge of the lunar geology and physics in order to ensure its trip was successful, so they turned to UT for expertise in these areas. Geoscientist Uel Clanton helped write rules of geological field work during lunar expeditions; while Jackson School graduate student Gary Latham and postdoctoral researcher Yoshio Nakamura developed seismometers compatible with lunar conditions.

On one of their lunar rover excursions, Schmitt jogged over a hill and looked down into a valley full of rocks he described as being simply “wow”, exclaiming: “this is truly incredible”. The following day he and Cernan drove their lunar rover across its surface collecting samples and performing experiments – the two eventually collected 250 pounds of moon rock and soil to bring back home with them.

Four out of America’s 12 moonwalkers remain alive today – Armstrong, Charles Duke (Apollo 16), Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17) and Gene Cernan (Apollo 13). Schmitt became the first living American to visit the moon since 1967 in 2011. In 2011 alone.

What was the name of the rocket that carried the astronauts to the moon?

Saturn V was the rocket that transported astronauts to the moon and was launched from Kennedy Space Center at Merritt Island, Florida, on July 16, 1969. Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin were placed into an Earth orbit of 114 by 116 miles; an estimated 650 million viewers worldwide witnessed their first step onto the Moon by Armstrong who stated “That is one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind!”

The Saturn V was comprised of three main parts: the Command Module with its cabin for astronauts; the Service Module that provided propulsion, electrical power, oxygen and water; and a lunar module designed to land on the moon. This lunar module consisted of two stages; descent stage which touched down on lunar surface before returning astronauts back into orbit and ascent stage which returned them home after landing on Moon surface.

Armstrong and Aldrin spent one hour and 39 minutes exploring Tranquility Base upon touchdown on the Moon, using EASEP (Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package), including seismometer deployment and soil collection samples to collect data for Mission Control back at home. After exiting their Eagle spacecraft they reported back that all was going well with Mission Control.

After the lunar landing, the ascent stages of the Lunar Module were jettisoned and either collided with or orbited around the Sun. Meanwhile, its lander was recovered by USS Hornet and taken back to Naval Station Port of Los Angeles for analysis; recently scientists announced that this material found in Moon rock samples returned by this lander was uncommon on other planets.

What was the name of the lunar module?

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s spacecraft for their moon landing was known as the lunar module, or LEM at first, before later changing to one named for one of Charles Schulz’s Peanuts characters in order to keep children interested in their mission. NASA thought that by giving both spacecraft such names from Peanuts they might help keep kids engaged with it all the more effectively.

Grumman Aerospace of Long Island, New York constructed the Lunar Module (LM). It was attached to another spacecraft known as the Command and Service Module (CSM), which was approximately twice its size. Astronauts were transported into lunar orbit aboard CSM before disengaging from it to embark on the descent stage of their LM and reach lunar surface.

Once on the Moon, astronauts used solar power systems aboard the LM to activate landing gear and other equipment, then used its engines and attitude thrusters to gradually slow its pace back toward Earth. Once there, its commander operated flight controls and engine throttle while its pilot oversaw other spacecraft systems while keeping him informed on system statuses and navigational information.

At the outset of lunar landing operations, the LM was about to reach an altitude of 18,000 feet (Template:Convert/round km). Astronauts were instructed to use its braking system to gradually lower it until reaching 10,000 feet (Template:Convert/round m). Once there, commander and lunar module pilot would then switch over to manual control for final descent towards Moon surface.

After descending 20 feet (Template:Convert/round meters), the Lunar Module’s descent engine was turned off, and three long legs extended from its body for touchdown on the Moon’s surface. Once settled on Earth’s moonscape, its crew spent 22 hours collecting rock samples and taking pictures of its surface before departing back home again.