As soon as they entered lunar orbit, it took three days for their spacecraft to slow enough to be captured by lunar gravity and for astronauts to unbolt from CSM before making their initial moonwalks.
On July 21, 1969, commander Neil Armstrong and LM pilot Buzz Aldrin made history when they set foot on the Moon’s surface in the Sea of Tranquility for the first time – an incredible human achievement!
How did the astronauts get to the Moon?
Between May 1961 and July 1969, over 10,000 problems needed to be solved for the first human-crewed spacecraft to successfully reach the Moon. Over 300,000. scientists, engineers, and factory workers worked diligently at solving each one.
This spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It consisted of three components – the command module, unmanned service module and lunar module.
Once in orbit, astronauts spent four days traveling towards the Moon which lay roughly 30,000 miles away. While in transit they ate, slept, and kept track of their journey using instruments familiar to sailors hundreds of years earlier.
While continuously adjusting their spacecraft controls to maintain an ideal flight path, astronauts employed a system which detected even minor variations in velocity and direction to ensure that landing module arrived on schedule.
On 21 July, Armstrong made history when he emerged from Eagle and made history when he set foot on the Moon for the first time. Aldrin quickly followed suit 19 minutes later and spent two hours exploring, photographing, and collecting samples from its surface.
This mission did not initially plan to land on the Moon; however, its focus shifted in 1960 following President John F Kennedy’s announcement that America would strive to be the first nation to put an astronaut onto its surface. With this announcement came an expansion from three-person orbiting crew to four-person crew with lunar module added as well.
Eagle was designed not to return home. The gold-and-black descent stage, also known as its home for fuel storage and exploration equipment, contained its rocket engine, fuel supply, ladder for astronauts to access their first steps on the Moon and science equipment. After landing and docking with Columbia on their 27th lunar orbit, its silver-and-black upper section, known as its ascent stage separated from its descendent stage and jettisoned into space – leaving Eagle permanently stuck on the Moon.
How long did it take to get to the Moon?
Apollo 11’s launch was one of the world’s most-watched events at that time, drawing millions to their televisions to witness Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin become history by becoming the first humans ever to set foot on the Moon. Not only was this feat remarkable technically; but also required immense courage from three extraordinary astronauts as they took on this monumental mission.
Journey time between Earth orbit and lunar surface was about three days; this is because distance varies according to where in its elliptical orbit the Moon was at that moment.
Once they had reached the Moon, they needed to slow their descent in order to safely land on it. This was achieved by firing thrusters on Eagle while it was still attached to Columbia, in order to separate and halt its descent allowing astronauts to exit safely from Lunar Module Eagle.
As they approached the surface of the Moon, the astronauts were guided by an automatic landing system designed to land them on a flat area of its surface. When Armstrong noticed that this was sending them towards a boulder-covered crater instead, he took over manual control in order to change course; otherwise the automated system would have used up too much fuel trying to land their spacecraft.
Once on the Moon’s surface, astronauts spent approximately two hours walking around and taking photographs before collecting 21.5 kilograms of lunar material for later testing back on Earth. All this was broadcast live to over 530 million viewers around the globe!
At first, the Apollo program’s initial aim was to send three-person crews orbiting the Moon. But shortly thereafter, President Kennedy altered this goal in order to include lunar landing as part of an international space race with Russia and raise more funding. This drastic alteration changed its scope significantly while also raising a substantial sum.
How long did it take to land on the Moon?
Nasa has not sent people back to the Moon since 1968; however, plans are underway for future trips via their Artemis project to establish a base there that will serve as an entryway into lunar orbit and enable future journeys towards its surface. On average, it takes spacecraft approximately three days to get to our nearest neighbour’s surface.
Arriving at the Moon can take quite some time due to its vast distance from Earth and depending on both size and fuel requirements of a spacecraft. Unmanned spacecraft tend to make quicker progress toward reaching their goal than their human counterparts; Nasa’s New Horizons spacecraft reached it within eight hours and 35 minutes in 2017.
Apollo 11 required approximately three days in space before reaching the Moon. Launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 16, 1969, their spaceship was propelled into space via a Saturn V multi-stage rocket.
After reaching lunar orbit, Apollo 11 crew began preparations for their mission by donning their lunar spacesuits; these suit were composed of 21 layers of fabric nested together. To perform tasks like climbing and firing cameras effectively while wearing these suits, astronauts needed enough freedom of movement in their suits for optimal performance.
At the end of their second day in space, astronauts were ready to begin the Moon landing. To do this, they separated Columbia from Eagle and climbed out from within Command Module into Eagle.
As soon as Armstrong and Aldrin had touched down on the Moon, they immediately started exploring its surface. They took photos, collected samples of lunar rock to be analysed back on Earth, used a lander to conduct magnetic field studies as well as studying its physical properties – all before returning back into their spacecraft after two hours on the lunar surface.
Armstrong made history when he took a step off the lunar module onto its surface, proclaiming his historic momentous words “One small step for man, one giant leap for humanity”. Aldrin then joined him several minutes later – an event witnessed by an estimated global television audience of 530 million viewers worldwide.
How long did it take to get back to Earth?
Most astronaut trips to the Moon usually last three days once they have left Earth orbit. This is due to their departure being carefully timed so as to use gravity of the Moon for return trips if anything goes wrong – though unmanned spacecraft are capable of traveling faster.
The Apollo 11 mission marked humanity’s inaugural trip to the Moon and back. It took the crew of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins 51 hours and 49 minutes to reach lunar surface in 1969 and 1,376 minutes to return back home – this being the quickest ever journey between Earth and Moon!
After landing on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin used their Lunar Module’s descent rocket engine to descend toward the Sea of Tranquility. Armstrong radioed home that evening at 4:17 pm (U.S. Eastern Daylight Time). “Houston Tranquility Base here! Eagle has just landed!”
Armstrong and Aldrin made themselves at home on the Moon immediately upon landing, taking photographs, collecting samples, conducting scientific experiments and planting the U.S. flag before calling home in Houston and President Richard Nixon to report their discoveries.
Armstrong and Aldrin returned to the LM about two and a half hours into their EVA. Using Columbia and Eagle as bridges, they entered via the docking tunnel between Columbia and Eagle and used its thrusters to achieve an elliptical lunar orbit.
At some point during its trip to the Moon, Columbia separated and was reoriented for reentry with heat shield forward orientation for reentry using heat shield-forward thrusters, leaving astronauts no choice but to use thrusters once more to return. They took 195 hours until splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24. Following quarantine they were transferred into Houston’s Lunar Receiving Laboratory for medical examinations and sample processing – 10000 problems had to be overcome from May 1961 until July 1969 before success could be attained!