Apollo 11 Inside Revealed
Visitors to this Smithsonian exhibit can experience what the astronauts saw aboard Apollo 11. Staff discovered numbers etched onto a smooth wall panel beneath lockers indicating some degree of flexibility had occurred in its layout and preflight plans.
Miller uses enhanced archival footage and often splits the screen to display two or more shots simultaneously – producing stunning results.
What’s inside?
Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin’s spacecraft that carried them on the inaugural manned lunar landing 50 years ago is still here–now on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum as a museum display. However, its windows have long been covered by plastic. Now however, using 3D visual scanners the museum has revealed every cubic inch of this enormous capsule which resembles a spaceship with one curving wing; their results can be found both on flat screens as well as via Google Cardboard virtual tour.
North American Aviation in Downey, Calif. constructed Eagle, becoming one of the premier aerospace design and manufacturing centers during this program. President John F. Kennedy issued a challenge in 1961 that required American astronauts to reach the moon before the decade ended; North American had to work quickly, employing many engineers and technicians for its production line.
Apollo 11 had an extremely modest habitable volume of just 210 cubic feet (5.9 cu. m), so astronauts lived quite sparingly aboard this mission; nonetheless, it was an engineering marvel and remarkable engineering accomplishment.
Prior to launch, Apollo 11 crew underwent months of intensive training and testing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once launched on July 16, 1969 from Kennedy Space Center, they spent two days orbiting Earth while transmitting television broadcasts back home while monitoring Saturn V rocket’s progress toward lunar orbit.
Shortly before liftoff, Gene Cernan exclaimed to Schmitt and Evans: “Look at the light!” This refers to Kennedy Space Center’s night sky which lit up with brilliant yellow hues as its seven and half million pounds of thrust began to come alive.
After landing, Armstrong and Aldrin spent around two hours inside their module checking systems and configuring it for use on the lunar surface. They also left behind a 1.5-inch silicon disk containing goodwill messages from 73 countries as well as congressional and NASA leaders’ names.
What’s outside?
Neil Armstrong was undoubtedly one of Apollo 11’s great achievements, yet its accomplishments go well beyond one person’s footprints on the moon. Its spacecraft itself represented an astounding feat of engineering and innovation that still remains remarkable today.
As it landed at speeds exceeding 22,000 feet per second, hurtling through the Sea of Tranquility at speeds exceeding 222,000 feet per second, Aldrin piloted from his command module consulted the computer for altitude data; Aldrin noted for 10 long seconds, there was no console readout; alarm bells blared, and error code 1202 again occurred – something Armstrong never expected would come back later on. “I never expected it,” Armstrong later commented.
But their computer was back to life, and they were able to continue the landing successfully. They collected over 21.6 kilograms of rock and regolith (a dusty mix covering lunar surfaces) as well as deployed experiments (such as seismometers for moonquake detection, laser-ranging retroreflectors to measure solar wind speed, and core tubes to test for water in its thick crust).
Since Apollo 11, scientists have carefully studied both geologic samples collected onboard Apollo 11 and photographs they took, to unveil an incredible insight into how the Moon formed. Researchers discovered for the first time that its blanket of dusty rubble consisted of both older basalt rocks and younger breccias indicating it remained hot during its early formation; contrary to popular opinion prior to Apollo 11, which held that its origin lay elsewhere.
Internal to the command module was a cramped metal box resembling a microwave oven; its main workstation featured a cramped numeric keypad console equipped with small readout screens that was operated by astronauts through two-digit codes memorized prior to take-off. As the lander careened toward the Moon with alarming speed, Aldrin managed his console by pressing buttons on an eerie green keypad while viewing three small panels display results on three separate readout screens on three small panels that displayed results on three small panels display screens on three small panels mounted behind astronauts within this hardened metal container computer brain arranged digital cascade fashion that contained 5,600 primitive integrated circuits (thin slices of silicon arranged digital cascade) made up this brain for which Aldrin managed his console with his buttons on his own green keypad!
What’s inside the command module?
People tend to overlook an equally essential piece of the Apollo program and Neil Armstrong’s historic first steps on the moon: the command module. This gumdrop-shaped capsule carried astronauts’ clothing, sleeping bags, food, as well as all necessary systems needed for round trips between Earth and Moon and back again.
In the years preceding its first lunar landing, the command module went through three major design adjustments. The first occurred after the fire that killed three astronauts during a launch rehearsal test on January 27, 1967 at Apollo 1’s launchpad; its flames quickly consumed all of its contents (containing pure oxygen and flammable materials). NASA and North American Aviation, which constructed it, immediately started work to redesign their spacecraft to avoid future catastrophe.
Apollos 15, 16 and 17 saw one final change, when an Apollo astronaut added a quadrant to the service module. On these missions, while lunar modules (LMs) explored lunar features on separate spacewalks, their astronaut stayed inside the command module (CM) taking pictures and conducting other experiments while lunar modules returned safely home bringing science data captured during their spacewalks back with them – making sure all science captured by LMs made its way back home safely as well.
As part of their 3D scanning process, museum staff discovered numerous notes and markings on the walls of the command module during 3D scanning. These included: a calendar with all days except landing day crossed out; numbers written near where the pilot sat using its sextant and telescope for navigation; as well as numbers that can be linked back to mission control voice communications transcripts indicating they may have been written by one of the astronauts on their journey towards lunar landing.
Gerald Blackburn found seeing the interior of the command module again to bring back memories from working in its assembly plant as a contractor. The small Volkswagen Beetle-sized space was packed tight with five people working on tasks together in tight quarters; often for hours at a time.
What’s inside the lunar module?
Though Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the Moon are among its most iconic images, there’s much more to Apollo 11 that deserves recognition: its power rocket, inventive spacecraft design and global broadcast technology that allowed millions of people around the world to witness this historic momentous occasion are all worthy of note.
The lunar module, or LM, was the centerpiece of any lander. This small spacecraft carried astronauts from Earth to the Moon and back again via orbiting command modules. Composed of two parts – lower descent stage that allowed for landing, and upper ascent stage that propelled astronauts back into lunar orbit for return journey – the LM played an essential role.
Throughout their mission, Armstrong and Aldrin’s Lunar Module (LM) served as their home for approximately two-and-a-half days. Not only could it allow them to rest and communicate with Mission Control, but it was also the means by which they conducted scientific experiments on the Moon surface. On their lunar surface excursions, Armstrong and Aldrin deployed scientific and engineering experiments; photographed their surroundings; displayed the American flag; read an inscription plaque; collected rock samples for later analysis on Earth; described their progress verbally to viewers back home while cameras inside and outside their LM recorded everything for posterity.
Once on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin found comfort in their Lunar Module (LM), treating it like an inviting living room that provided them with views of its lunar surface through windows. Indeed, so enticing was this cozy environment that they requested early exit and spend more time on its surface.
Armstrong opened a small storage assembly attached to the lower stage and removed a Westinghouse television camera from within it; this camera could transmit images and sounds back through its radio antenna directly to Mission Control on Earth.
Before climbing back into the LM, Armstrong and Aldrin closed a circuit breaker that had been open to allow signal transmissions. Shortly afterwards, pictures from their Moon trip began being sent back home – grainy but stunning images.