Apollo 11

Neil Armstrong · 1969 CE · The Moon

Land humans on the Moon and return them safely.

Historical context

Apollo 11 was the summit of a space race fought since Sputnik in 1957, mobilising hundreds of thousands of people. Its crew carried the first footsteps — and the first samples — from another world.

The voyage, step by step

1. Launch and translunar injection

   16 July 1969

   Saturn V lifts off on 16 July 1969 and the third stage sends Apollo 11 toward the Moon.

2. Lunar orbit

   19 July 1969

   On 19 July the spacecraft enters lunar orbit; the crew photographs the future landing zone.

3. Powered descent

   1969 CE

   Eagle separates and fires its descent engine; alarms sound as the computer struggles with the landing radar.

4. The Eagle has landed

   20 July 1969

   On 20 July 1969 Armstrong manually flies past a boulder field and lands in the Sea of Tranquility.

5. One small step

   1969 CE

   Armstrong and Aldrin spend about two hours on the surface, deploying experiments and collecting samples.

6. Liftoff and splashdown

   21 July 1969

   Eagle lifts off on 21 July, docks with Columbia, and the crew splashes down in the Pacific on 24 July.

Outcome

First crewed landing, in the Sea of Tranquility.

Neil Armstrong

American astronaut and commander of Apollo 11, the first crewed Moon landing, who became the first human to walk on another world.

Read on Wikipedia

Sources

• Apollo 11 — Wikipedia
• A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo AstronautsAndrew Chaikin · Viking · 1994

Continue exploring

• Apollo 8 lunar orbitApollo 8 · 1968 CE
• Luna 16 sample returnLuna 16 · 1970 CE
• Lunokhod 1 traverseLunokhod 1 · 1970 CE – 1971 CE
• Surveyor 3 landingSurveyor 3 · 1967 CE – 1969 CE