Apollo 15 launched on July 26, 1971, the ninth manned mission of the Apollo program. It was the fourth lunar landing mission. Her crew was led by Commander David Scott, Command Module Pilot was Alfred Worden, and the Lunar Module Pilot was Jim Irwin.
Wikipedia says:
“It was the first of what were termed J missions — long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous missions.”
NASA – the National Aeronautics and Space Administration – was established on July 29, 1958 by the National Aeronautics and Space Act.
Wikipedia says:
“In addition to the space program, it is also responsible for long-term civilian and military aerospace research. Since February 2006 NASA’s self-described mission statement is to “pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research.”
NASA’s motto is: “For the benefit of all”. The motto of NASA’s Office of Education is: Shaping the Future: Launching New Endeavors to Inspire the Next Generation of Explorers.“
May 5, 1961 launch of Redstone rocket and NASA’s Mercury Freedom 7 with Alan Shepard Jr. on the United States’ first manned sub-orbital spaceflight.
Apollo 15 launched on July 26, 1971, the ninth manned mission of the Apollo program. It was the fourth lunar landing mission. Her crew was led by Commander David Scott, Command Module Pilot was Alfred Worden, and the Lunar Module Pilot was Jim Irwin.
Wikipedia says:
“It was the first of what were termed J missions — long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous missions.”
Gus Grissom, a native of Mitchell, Indiana, became just the second American to reach space on July 22, 1961. He was born April 3, 1926, and perished with two colleagues on the launch test-pad on January 27, 1967.
Wikipedia says:
“Following the splashdown of “Liberty Bell 7″, the hatch, which had explosive bolts, blew off prematurely, letting water into the capsule and into Grissom’s suit. Grissom nearly drowned but was rescued by helicopter, while the spacecraft sank in deep water. Grissom maintained he did nothing to set off the explosives to blow the hatch, and NASA officials agreed. The craft was recovered in 1999 but there was no evidence of how the hatch had been opened. However, later experience showed that the force necessary to trigger the initiator for the explosive egress system would leave a major bruise, and Grissom had no such injury.”
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In a technological feat never before accomplished, and will perhaps never be rivaled, American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969.
Wikipedia says:
Although the official NASA flight plan called for a crew rest period before extra-vehicular activity, Armstrong requested that the EVA be moved earlier in the evening, Houston time. Once Armstrong and Aldrin were ready to go outside, Eagle was depressurized, the hatch was opened and Armstrong made his way down the ladder first. He placed his left foot on the surface at 2:56 UTC July 21, 1969, then spoke the following words:
“That’s one small step for [a] man; one giant leap for mankind.”
Listen to the original radio transmission of Neil Armstrong’s famous “mankind” statement [314mb in Mp3].
Watch the actual historic television footage of Armstrong’s famous first step on to the Moon [QuickTime, 5.0 mb]
Heritage Auctions auctioned off original handwritten notes by American astronaut Buzz Aldrin on September 19, 2007. They went for an astounding $179,250.00!
He read from this card at 125 hours, 25 minutes and 38 seconds into the mission:
“Houston This is Eagle The LM Pilot speaking. I would like to request a few moments of silence. Over. I would like to invite each person listening in, wherever and whomever he may be, to contemplate for a moment the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his own individual way- – My way shall be by partaking of the elements of Holy Communion.” His fellow astronaut, Neil Armstrong, watched but did not partake.
The verses he would have liked to have read are found at the top of the other side of this handwritten card:
“An [sic] Jesus said, ‘I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me.’ [John 15:5]” There are additional, and very appropriate, verses beneath in a different ink that Aldrin did actually quote three days later during a TV broadcast by the astronauts aboard Columbia the evening before they splashed down safely in the Pacific. He writes: “Psalm 8: v. 3,4 ‘When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou has ordained; What is man that thou art mindful of him? And the Son of Man, that thou visitest Him?’“
Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft sent to Mars as part of NASA’s Viking program, and holds the record for the longest Mars surface mission.
Following launch using a Titan/Centaur launch vehicle on August 20, 1975 and a 10 month cruise to Mars, the orbiter began returning global images of Mars about 5 days before orbit insertion. The Viking 1 Orbiter was inserted into Mars orbit on June 19, 1976 and trimmed to a 1513 x 33,000 km, 24.66 h site certification orbit on June 21. Landing on Mars was planned for July 4, 1976, the United States Bicentennial, but imaging of the primary landing site showed it was too rough for a safe landing. The landing was delayed until a safer site was found. The lander separated from the orbiter on July 20 08:51 UT and landed at 11:53:06 UT.
One of the scientific experiments Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin performed on Apollo 11 on July 20, 1969 was the retrieval of a contingency sample.
NASA, Apollo 11 press kit (page 42 excerpt):
“The commander, shortly after setting foot on the lunar surface, will collect a contingency sample of surface material and place it in his suit pocket. Later both crewmen will collect as much as 130 pounds of loose materials and core samples which will be stowed in air-tight sample return containers for return to Earth.”
Listen to the original radio transmission of this procedure
Mp3 audio | 77 secs | 1.2 mb
After astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped on to the Moon’s surface he provided a nice description of what he saw.
Listen to the original radio transmission of his description.
73 seconds | Mp3 | 1.1 mb
You can also watch the video!
Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, Apollo ll mission commander, at the modular equipment storage assembly (MESA) of the Lunar Module “Eagle” on the historic first extravehicular activity (EVA) on the lunar surface. Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. took the photograph with a Hasselblad 70mm camera. Most photos from the Apollo 11 mission show Buzz Aldrin. This is one of only a few that show Neil Armstrong (some of these are blurry).
Image credit/description: NASA
Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface at 02:56:15 UT on 21 July (10:56:15 p.m. July 20 EDT), stating, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. He then collected a small contingency sample of lunar material. Aldrin followed 19 minutes later, calling the lunar surface “Magnificent desolation”. The astronauts then unveiled the plaque mounted on a strut behind the ladder and read the inscription aloud: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the Moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.” They put up an American flag and talked to President Nixon by radiotelephone. The astronauts deployed the EASEP and other instruments, took photographs, and collected 21.7 kg of lunar rock and soil. The astronauts traversed a total distance of about 250 meters, both ranging up to about 100 meters from the LM. They took two core tube samples of lunar soil and packed these along with the lunar samples and the solar wind experiment into the sample boxes. Aldrin returned to the LM first, after 1 hour 41 minutes on the lunar surface, Armstrong followed about 12 minutes later, at 05:09:32 UT, after transferring the sample boxes up to Aldrin and placing a packet of memorial items on the ground. The EVA ended at 5:11:13 UT when the LM hatch was closed. Armstrong and Aldrin spent the next 7 hours resting and checking out systems.
Text source: NASA
These pictures are from the official NASA Apollo 11 press kit. Available for download online.
Astronaut reach constraints in their space suits.
Landing phases to touchdown on the Moon.
Landing on the Moon.
The first man – Armstrong – steps on the Moon.
Recovery the Apollo 11 space capsule.
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