Once Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took off from the Moon aboard an ascent stage of LM, they met with Michael Collins in the command module – although NASA engineers assumed Eagle would crash onto its lunar surface, gravitational analysis suggests otherwise – possibly creating an historical artifact! The Eagle’s Orbit Neil Armstrong made history…
As captivating as Miller’s IMAX footage is, what truly distinguishes Apollo 11 is its audio archives. Ranging from back-room chitchat to the haunting Moog-infused score, Apollo 11 highlights just how many technicians and flight control teams were necessary to send three brave men on an ambitious journey around our moon and back safely. As in…
On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin opened Eagle’s hatch to begin the first lunar surface EVA mission. Their two and half hour moonwalk included setting up science experiments, photographing their surroundings, reading an inscription plaque, reading aloud the plaque text, reading aloud an inscription plaque message from spacecraft Apollo 11, reading aloud from it…
NASA spacecraft names are as symbolic as their missions are effective. While NASA follows certain guidelines when selecting mission names, creativity can still come into play here. Motherboard reports that the process for naming began in the early ’60s with the creation of the Project Designation Committee. Voyager NASA originally designed two spacecraft as part…
Apollo relied heavily on aeronautical and hardware engineering for success; but software engineering also played an essential part. At its heart was the Apollo Guidance Computer located within both Command Module and Lunar Module spacecraft. At its time, this machine had the computing power of a pocket calculator and stored its code using core rope…
President Kennedy made clear his goal when urging Congress to fund NASA’s Apollo program: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” NASA responded to that challenge by developing innovative vehicles such as the Saturn V rocket, which featured three-stages that transported astronauts between Earth and Moon. The Apollo Missions NASA’s Apollo program,…
The Smithsonian has published a high-resolution scan of Apollo 11 command module Columbia that is freely available online and includes data files suitable for 3D printing or VR viewing. If we ever want to build long-duration bases in space, astronauts will require the ability to manufacture their own tools – this is where additive manufacturing…
Apollo 11 immediately captured world imagination upon launch, drawing global interest as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin embarked upon mankind’s first steps ever on the Moon. It made history. They disassociated Eagle from Columbia, and began exploring the Moon’s surface. Furthermore, they deployed scientific equipment and collected samples of lunar materials. Launch Apollo 11 was…
As Eagle neared the moon, program alarms continued to interfere with communication with Mission Control and propellant was seen sloshing around due to low fuel levels. Further increasing tension was the fact that program alarms continued sporadically interrupting radio transmissions with Mission Control. Two minutes of radio silence ensued – which has since been exploited…
