Director Todd Douglas Miller employs an incredible archive of footage to transport us back 50 years. It serves as an ode to America’s ambition and serves as a reminder of what can be accomplished when we set our sights high.
He accomplishes this without narration, instead allowing the astronauts and their crew to communicate directly with Mission Control via comm chat. The result is an epic journey that is as captivating today as it was then.
1. It was a technological miracle
Traveling to and back from the moon required extraordinary technological achievements. Every component must work seamlessly for this mission to succeed; and indeed it did.
John F. Kennedy pledged that men would land on the moon by the end of the 1960s; Apollo 11 marked this promise and later served as a springboard for nine other missions that explored and advanced science and technology.
Each mission to the moon brought something unique. Apollo 12 performed a pinpoint landing to retrieve equipment left behind from Surveyor 3 three years earlier, while other missions explored geologically diverse “Fra Mauro” formation and placed instruments that monitored seismic events, solar wind, and lunar dust. And when Apollo 13 experienced difficulties on its return journey back home, astronauts used its Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM) as a lifeboat as they returned back home.
The Apollo program opened up a new era of space exploration, and many of the technologies developed for it remain relevant today. For instance, digital fly-by-wire control systems used by astronauts on lunar descent remain integral parts of airliners and even cars today; and Apollo’s landing computer contained only 73kb memory yet could manage complex flight functions.
Apollo made another important contribution with its breathtaking photos of Earth taken by astronauts en route to the moon. These pictures helped foster environmental activism during the late 1960s and early 1970s and demonstrated why our planet should be preserved and protected.
Although the Apollo program was widely celebrated, American culture never fully accepted it. Historian David Launius in his book “Why the Moon Landed” identified four responses or storylines to it – triumphalist celebration, leftist criticism that funds should have been better directed to social issues, criticism from rightists that saw space exploration as another expansion of federal power at the expense of private industry and state governments, as well as conspiracy theories from radical fringes.
2. It was a human achievement
Human history had long been focused on reaching for the moon – until 1969, when Neil Armstrong first set foot on its surface and made history by declaring: “That’s one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind!”. Since then, humanity has made great strides toward taking its journey.
The mission to land on the moon was an immense endeavor that would test America’s nerves and engineers to their limit. Beginning as President John F. Kennedy dreamt of conquering space, its realization involved hardworking individuals who dedicated their lives towards realizing this goal.
At a time when both nations were engaged in an all-out struggle for global dominance, space emerged as one of the key battlefields. The Apollo program was massively expensive and required significant sacrifice from thousands of families as members worked long hours towards making their dream of landing on the moon come true.
Apollo 1 suffered an inferno during an unmanned test flight in 1967 and lost its crew. But sufficient flight hardware remained for nine follow-on missions with plans of extensive lunar geological and astronomical exploration; unfortunately budget cuts forced NASA to scale back these original plans, only five missions actually succeeded and Apollo 13 had to be abandoned after an oxygen tank exploded aboard, crippling its Command/Service Module (CSM).
Apollo missions not only demonstrated our capacity to travel to other planets, but they also collected invaluable scientific data and specimens that enabled scientists to better comprehend our solar system and our place within it. Perhaps its greatest legacy lies in inspiring a generation of Americans to pursue careers in science and engineering.
Astronaut Mike Massimino was only six when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history on the moon, yet their experience inspired a lifelong interest in space exploration. Now an MIT graduate and two-time astronaut who has performed more than 30 spacewalks to repair Hubble Space Telescope, Massimino also serves as chief engineer of an International Space Station cargo spacecraft that will deliver food, supplies and other equipment over six months.
3. It was a scientific achievement
Armstrong and Aldrin collected 21.8 kilograms of rock and regolith during their 21-hour stay on the Moon, traversed some kilometers across its surface, deployed scientific experiments that would continue functioning after they left, made discoveries which contributed to shaping planetary science as we know it today, and made significant discoveries that changed its course forever.
An array of experiments was carried out on the Moon to provide scientists with more understanding about its formation; seismometers provided researchers with insight into its interior and helped them better comprehend how it formed; laser-ranging retroreflectors provided distance measurements by reflecting laser pulses back towards Earth; an electric arc generator provided an in-depth glimpse of its electrical system; and
This mission stretched rocket technology beyond its limits and proved that humans could travel far beyond low Earth orbit. This propelled space exploration for years afterward and inspired children to study science. Sean Solomon of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory credits Apollo with “opening up exploration of our solar system and other planetary bodies”, such as Mercury, Mars and Venus using various methods for understanding geology, topography, gravity fields, exosphere and magnetosphere of these planets.
As the lunar lander approached the surface, its automatic landing system sent it toward a boulder-filled crater; but Armstrong took manual control and navigated towards a more suitable landing zone – just 30 seconds away from running out of fuel! – and eventually reached their goal.
On the surface, they planted a flag and read from a plaque proclaiming their peaceful intent for all humanity. After collecting samples of Moon rocks and dust samples for two hours, they returned to Eagle to rejoin Collins in his Command Module.
It was an epic, breathless journey, with astronauts having to trust in instinct to save their lives in the final minutes before landing on the lunar surface. Yet it remains one of humanity’s greatest achievements ever undertaken – its scientific results truly altering our view of life & what is possible.
4. It was a symbol of hope
It can be easy to harp on Apollo 11 for its power, innovation, and Neil Armstrong’s iconic first steps on the lunar surface, but its mission was also about hope.
President John F Kennedy set forth his goal of sending a human being to the moon in 1961 during a period of extreme turmoil and division around the globe. America and Russia were in an all-out struggle for global power; everything seemed both possible and impossible at once. Yet Kennedy saw this challenge as something America couldn’t afford to fail at; NASA had already committed over $1.5 billion into their manned space program alone!
These funds allowed NASA to enter a golden age of exploration. By the time of Apollo 11’s launch in June 1969, America needed a symbol of hope to lead them forward.
That is why it was so inspiring when Apollo 11 astronauts touched down on the Moon wearing flags bearing an American eagle holding an olive branch, symbolic of our nation’s hope that their space journey would bring peace and prosperity to planet earth.
Mission success did not come easily for NASA and their astronauts. Just days into their voyage, Eagle was faced with a critical computer malfunction which was sounding alarms that, if left uncorrected in seconds, could have forced the team to abandon landing altogether.
But after a day of repairs and testing, the crew was finally cleared for a successful descent. Americans watched on radio and TV as astronauts spoke directly with mission control from within their spacecraft.
As they neared the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin transitioned into their lunar module dubbed Eagle; Collins remained in Columbia. When it was time for their descent, millions watched around the world as Eagle lowered itself onto the lunar surface.
After two hours on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin disembarked Eagle and returned to Columbia. Before departing the Moon they performed several scientific experiments such as using seismographs and Laser Ranging Retroreflectors to measure distances from Earth to Moon; also sending back several television reports for their home audience back on Earth.