the purpose of the apollo 11 mission was to land men on the lunar surface and to return them safely...

8/7/2019 The Purpose of the Apollo 11 Mission Was to Land Men on the Lunar Surface and to Return Them Safely to Earth

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The purpose of the Apollo 11 mission was to land men on the lunar surface and to return themsafely to Earth. The crew was Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, Command Modulepilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module pilot.

After launch, the spacecraft was inserted into lunar orbit about 76 hours into the mission. After arest period, Armstrong and Aldrin entered the Lunar Module preparing for descent to the lunar

surface. The two spacecraft were undocked at about 100 hours, when the Command and ServiceModules separated from the Lunar Module. The spacecraft landed in the Sea of Tranquillity at4:18 p.m. EDT. Afterwards, they ate their first meal on the Moon and decided to begin the surfaceoperations earlier than planned.

A Lunar Module camera provided live television coverage of Armstrong setting foot on the lunarsurface at 10:56 p.m. EDT. Just as he stepped off the Lunar Module Neil Armstrong proclaimed,"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Aldrin emerged soon after, settingfoot on the lunar surface at 11:16 p.m. EDT. Aldrin evaluated his ability to operate and moveabout and was able to move about rapidly and with confidence. Forty-seven pounds of lunarsurface material were collected to be returned for analysis. The surface exploration wasconcluded in 2 hours, when the crew re-entered the lunar module.

After lunar ascent, the Lunar Module docked with the Command and Service Modules at 128hours. The crew transferred into the Command and Service Modules, the ascent stage was

jettisoned and they prepared for trans-Earth injection. Only one midcourse correction wasrequired, and passive thermal control was used for most of trans-Earth coast. Bad weather madeit necessary to move the splashdown point 346 kilometers (215 miles) downrange. Atmosphericentry phase was normal, and the command module landed in the Pacific Ocean at 195 hours.The landing coordinates, as determined from the onboard computer, were 13 degrees 30 minutesnorth latitude and -169 degrees 15 minutes east longitude.

With the success of Apollo 11, the national objective to land men on the Moon and return themsafely to Earth had been accomplished

Apollo 8

Mission Summary

Apollo 8, the first flight to take men to the vicinity of the Moon, was a bold step forward

in the development of a lunar landing capability. With only minor problems, all

spacecraft systems operated as intended, and all primary mission objectives were

successfully accomplished. Crew performance was admirable throughout the mission.The navigation techniques developed for translunar and lunar orbital flight proved to be

more than adequate to maintain required accuracies for lunar orbit insertion and trans-

Earth injection. Communications and tracking at lunar distances were excellent in allmodes.

Flight Summary

Apollo 7Saturn 1B (AS-205, CSM-101)October 11-22, 1968Walter M. Schirra Jr. (commander), Donn F. Eisele (CM pilot), R. Walter Cunningham (LM pilot)
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10 days, 20 hours163 Earth orbits. First manned CSM operations in lunar landing program. First live TV from mannedspacecraft.

Apollo 8Saturn V (AS-503, CSM-103)December 21-27, 1968Frank Borman (commander), James A. Lovell Jr. (CM pilot), William A. Anders (LM pilot)

06 days, 03 hoursIn lunar orbit 20 hours, with 10 orbits. First manned lunar orbital mission. Support facilities tested.Photographs taken of Earth and Moon. Live TV broadcasts.Apollo 9(Gumdrop and Spider)Saturn V (AS-504, SM-104, CM-104, LM-3)March 03-13, 1969James A. McDivitt (commander), David R. Scott (CM pilot), Russell L. Schweickart (LM pilot)

10 days, 01 hourFirst manned flight of all lunar hardware in Earth orbit. Schweickark performed 37 minutes EVA. Humanreactions to space and weightlessnesstested in 152 orbits. First manned flight of lunar module.Apollo 10(Charlie Brown and Snoopy)Saturn V (AS-505, SM-106, CM-106, LM-4)May 18-26, 1969Thomas P. Stafford (commander), John W. Young (CM pilot), Eugene A. Cernan (LM pilot)

08 days, 03 minutesDress rehearsal for Moon landing. First manned CSM/LM operations in cislunar and lunar environment;simulation of first lunar landing profile. In lunar orbit 61.6 hours, with 31 orbits. LM taken to within 15,243 m(50,000 ft) of lunar surface. First live color TV from space. LM ascent stage jettisoned in orbit.

Apollo 11(Columbia and Eagle)Saturn V (AS-506, SM-107, CM-107, LM-5)July 16-24, 1969Neil A. Armstrong (commander), Michael Collins (CM pilot), Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin Jr. (LM pilot)

08 days, 03 hours, 18 minutesFirst manned lunar landing mission and lunar surface EVA.

"Houston, Tranquility base here. The eagle has landed."- July 20th, 1969

Landing site: Sea of Tranquility.Landing Coordinates: 0.71 degrees North, 23.63 degrees East

1 EVA of 02 hours, 31 minutes. Flag and instruments deployed; unveiled plaque on the LM descent stagewith inscription: "Here Men From Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon. July 1969 A.D. We Came InPeace For All Mankind." Lunar surface stay time 21.6 hours; 59.5 hours in lunar orbit, with 30 orbits. LMascent stage left in lunar orbit. 20kg (44 lbs) of material gathered.

Apollo 12(Yankee Clipper and Intrepid)Saturn V (AS-507, SM-108, CM-108, LM-6)November 14-24, 1969
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Charles Conrad Jr. (commander), Richard F. Gordon Jr. (CM pilot), Alan L. Bean (LM pilot)

10 days, 04 hours, 36 minutesLanding site: Ocean of Storms.3.04 degrees South, 23.42 degrees West

Retrieved parts of the unmanned Surveyor 3, which had landed on the Moon in April 1967. Apollo LunarSurface Experiments Package (ALSEP) deployed. Lunar surface stay-time, 31.5 hours; in lunar orbit 89hours, with 45 orbits. LM descent stage impacted on Moon. 34kg (75 lbs) of material gathered.Apollo 13(Odyssey and Aquarius)Saturn V (AS-508, SM-109, CM-109, LM-7)April 11-17, 1970James A. Lovell Jr. (commander), John L. Swigert Jr. (CM pilot), Fred W. Haise Jr. (LM pilot)

05 days, 22.9 hoursThird lunar landing attempt. Mission aborted after rupture of service module oxygen tank. Classed as"successful failure" because of experience in rescuing crew. Spent upper stage successfully impacted onthe Moon.Apollo 14(Kitty Hawk and Antares)

Saturn V (AS-509, SM-110, CM-110, LM-8)January 31-February 09, 1971Alan B. Shepard Jr. (commander), Stuart A. Roosa (CM pilot), Edgar D. Mitchell (LM pilot)

09 daysLanding site: Fra Mauro.Landing Coordinates: 3.65 degrees south, 17.48 degrees West

ALSEP and other instruments deployed. Lunar surface stay-time, 33.5 hours; 67 hours in lunar orbit, with34 orbits. 2 EVAs of 09 hours, 25 minutes. Third stage impacted on Moon. 42 kg (94 lbs) of materialsgathered, using hand cart for first time to transport rocks.Apollo 15(Endeavor and Falcon)Saturn V (AS-510, SM-112, CM-112, LM-10)July 26-August 07, 1971David R. Scott (commander), Alfred M. Worden (CM pilot), James B. Irwin (LM pilot)

12 days, 17 hours, 12 minutesLanding site: Hadley-Apennine region nearApennine Mountains.Landing Coordinates: 26.08 degrees North, 3.66 degrees East

3 EVAs of 10 hours, 36 minutes. Worden performed 38 minutes EVA on way back to Earth. First to carryorbital sensors in service module of CSM. ALSEP deployed. Scientific payload landed on Moon doubled.Improved spacesuits gave increased mobility and stay-time. Lunar surface staytime, 66.9 hours. LunarRoving Vehicle (LRV), electric-powered, 4-wheel drive car, traversed total 27.9 km (17 mi). In lunar orbit145 hours, with 74 orbits. Small sub-satellite left in lunar orbit for first time. 76.7 kg (169 lbs) of materialgathered.Apollo 16(Casper and Orion)Saturn V (AS-511, SM-113, CM-113, LM-11)April 16-27, 1972John W. Young (commander), Thomas K. Mattingly II (CM pilot), Charles M. Duke Jr. (LM pilot)

11 days, 01 hour, 51 minutesLanding site: Descartes Highlands.Landing Coordinates: 8.97 degrees South, 15.51 degrees East
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First study of highlands area. Selected surface experiments deployed, ultraviolet camera/spectrograph usedfor first time on Moon, and LRV used for second time. Lunar surface stay-time, 71 hours; in lunar orbit 126hours, with 64 orbits. Mattingly performed 01 hour in-flight EVA. 95 kg (209 lbs) of lunar samples collected.Apollo 17(America and Challenger)Saturn V (AS-512, SM-114, CM-114, LM-12)December 07-19, 1972

Eugene A. Cernan (commander), Ronald E. Evans (CM pilot), Harrison H. Schmitt (LM pilot)

12 days, 13 hours, 52 minutesLast lunar landing mission.Landing site: Taurus-Littrow, highlands and valley area.Landing Coordinates: 20.16 degrees North, 30.77 degrees East

3 EVAs of 22 hours, 04 minutes. Evans performed trans-Earth EVA lasting 01 hour, 06 minutes. Firstscientist-astronaut to land on Moon: Schmitt. Sixth automated research station set up. LRV traverse total30.5 km. Lunar surface stay-time, 75 hours. In lunar orbit 148 hours, with 75 orbits. 110.4 kg (243 lbs) ofmaterial gathered.

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the purpose of the apollo 11 mission was to land men on the lunar surface and to return them safely...

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