Since humans first set foot on another celestial body in 1969, we still marvel at their accomplishment. Put your knowledge of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins through this quiz!
Armstrong refers to this action as “rolling over,” which is actually an instruction to rotate and align the Eagle with the Moon’s surface.
What was the name of the rocket?
Apollo 11 was a 363-foot Saturn V rocket launched from Earth by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin that carried them to the Moon, marking the culmination of years of scientific planning and technical design work. The rocket consisted of two stages: upper ascent stage (upper stage) and lower descent stage (lower stage).
Once on the lunar surface, Armstrong and Aldrin used a camera to take photographs and collect samples of dust and rocks for scientific study. They planted a US flag, communicated with President Richard Nixon via radio transmission, planted another flag, planted one at their landing spot, spoke with NASA via radio transmission and spent approximately two hours walking around on it.
After returning to their LM Eagle, Armstrong and Aldrin used its descent engine to return to orbit before firing up its ascent engine to dock with Michael Collins’ command module and return back down on July 24 – ending a heated “space race” between America and Russia while showing that space was shared resource. This historic landing also showed world leaders that space should remain a shared resource.
What was the name of the ship?
The USS Hornet (CV/CVA/CVS-12) served as the primary recovery ship for Apollo 11. She was one of the largest aircraft carriers ever made and one of several primary recovery ships for NASA space missions.
Estimates suggest that approximately half the world was aware of this mission through worldwide radio and television coverage, making the event a memorable one – crew members returning home were met by cheering crowds when they returned to Earth!
Millions watched as Armstrong took “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. This historic moment in American space program also marked an end to the competitive “space race” between America and Soviet Russia as well as potential future cooperation between these superpowers.
This was an extremely complex mission with more near misses than were made public at the time. These close calls included both landing and reentry phases of this mission; landing almost went horribly awry when Grissom’s hatch accidentally opened; however, he was saved by helicopter rescue teams, while reentry proved far more treacherous than it appeared on television.
What was the name of the astronauts?
Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins were the astronauts involved with Apollo 11. On 21 July 1969, Armstrong took his first steps onto the lunar surface and said “One small step for man, one giant leap for humanity”. It marked the first time humans had ever set foot on another world.
After landing, the astronauts conducted a comprehensive inspection to make sure their spacecraft was healthy for its return home. They also spent time walking across the lunar surface collecting samples and taking photographs.
Armstrong amassed more than 1,000 hours in space while serving as command pilot of Gemini 8. Known for his ability to remain calm under pressure and skill at flying experimental jet planes, Armstrong passed away at 82.
What was the goal of the mission?
Armstrong and Aldrin collected both soil samples as well as rock samples during their explorations of the Moon. Additionally, they installed devices that measured solar wind passing over it and set up passive seismometers capable of detecting moonquakes long after they had occurred; additionally they took numerous photographs while communicating constantly with mission control.
The astronauts used a specially-created docking system, in which a probe on the CM engaged with a drogue on the LM to ensure both vehicles were aligned in an aligned manner and formed an “airlock-free tunnel” connection between them – no airlock required!
After spending 21 hours and 38 minutes exploring the lunar surface, Eagle reentered lunar orbit and rendezvoused with Columbia. A docking maneuver was then conducted using thruster on Columbia to complete its docking maneuver; by July 30, Armstrong and Aldrin had both made their return journey back home aboard Columbia.
What was the name of the landing site?
NASA and the Apollo program worked for nearly 10 years to make human landing on the Moon possible, culminating in Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin taking one small step for humanity and one giant leap for all mankind when they finally set foot on it on 21 July 1969 – watched by an estimated 530 million viewers who watched Neil and Buzz step off of Eagle and declare, ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
NASA scientists selected Mare Tranquillitatis near the equator as their final landing site for Apollo 11 and subsequent missions as it reduced fuel requirements, provided smoother landing surfaces than poles, and provided direct line-of-sight communications with Earth that were less vulnerable to interference by lunar atmosphere.
After going through an exhaustive checklist, Armstrong and Aldrin unloaded Eagle from Columbia piloted by Collins and began their descent toward the Moon’s surface. While descending, Armstrong and Aldrin’s guidance computer detected several alarms which did not appear during simulations – using semi-manual control they avoided both boulder fields as well as an area later known as Little West crater.
What was the name of the command module?
Apollo 11 used the Columbia as its command module. This historic event witnessed by over five hundred million viewers was the first attempt by humans to land on the Moon since President Kennedy set this goal back in 1961 – it marked one small step for mankind and was watched by President Kennedy himself! Neil Armstrong made history upon becoming the first human to set foot on its surface, declaring: ‘That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.”
The command modules consisted of two primary parts: a conical cabin which housed the crew, and a cylindrical service module which provided propulsion and storage space. An umbilical cable connected both modules for power transfer and consumable transfer.
Armstrong and Aldrin successfully landed their Eagle lander on the lunar surface before blasting back up to Columbia and docking using a camera to record images of the landing site. Once docked, they deployed solar wind composition experiment, seismometer, and laser ranger retroreflector experiments in order to collect scientific data for Earth.
What was the name of the lunar module?
The lunar module (LM) was an Apollo spacecraft component designed to enable astronauts to travel safely to and from the Moon’s surface. As it was the sole piece that touched down there, its sole mission was landing. Shaped like a cone with folding legs for propulsion and separation from its parent command module during landing sequence, its mission consisted of flying directly towards its surface before docking back up with it later when astronauts completed their tasks on it.
Armstrong and Aldrin softly touched down on the Moon’s surface at Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969, spending two and a half hours moonwalking, conducting experiments, photographing their surroundings and collecting samples for analysis back on Earth.
Once back at the LM, they activated the ascent stage and launched it back into orbit using course correction burns, eventually jettisoning their descent stage.
What was the name of the lander?
Apollo 11 lunar module LM 5 was code-named Eagle. Upon landing on the moon’s surface, its legs extended three 67.2-inch (2.71 m) probes that extended from them so as to touch its surface and activate a contact indicator light. Later these probes were removed due to concerns they would bend or break as astronauts descended or climbed back up ladder, potentially puncturing their suits and puncturing themselves in the process.
On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin separated Eagle from Columbia while Collins remained in orbit and started their descent toward the Moon.
Five times during their two-minute lunar landing mission, Mission Control signaled alarms from the Lunar Module computer which did not appear in simulations but continued with it anyway. Following two minutes of hovering above Little West Crater Site 2 at Sea of Tranquility (now Little West Crater), Armstrong set foot on the Moon making his now famous comment: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. Aldrin soon joined Armstrong after him.
What was the name of the lunar surface?
Before Apollo 11, most scientists believed the Moon to have an even surface without any noticeable differences in elevation. But this view was challenged when Surveyor 5, an early robotic precursor to Apollo lunar module Apollo 11, landed in Mare Tranquillitatis and sent back images showing flow boundaries similar to lava flows on Earth as well as evidence of regolith covering its surface.
On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin successfully docked Eagle with Columbia and dropped into lunar orbit. Eagle’s descent engine then powered its descent as Armstrong and Aldrin fired their descent engine and entered lunar orbit.
Armstrong and Aldrin embarked upon their inaugural Moonwalk the following day, where they deployed experiments like seismometers to detect Moonquakes, lunar dust collectors, laser-ranging retroreflectors, as well as collecting samples of lunar soil and environment. Their mission proved humans could safely explore other planets while teaching important lessons regarding spacesuit design, mobility, sampling gear and dust control (though there was no air on the Moon at this point!). It was an extraordinary scientific achievement which captured people’s imagination around the globe.