Neil and Buzz could only spend two and a half hours on the moon because of the limited supply of oxygen in their tanks.
Because Neil was commander of the mission, NASA awarded him the honor of stepping onto the moon first.
Carefully Neil climbed down the ladder. He had given much thought to what he’d say. After all, his words would be heard all over the world. Neil’s message was, “That’s one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind.”
But as Neil set foot on the moon, four hundred and fifty million people listening heard him say, “That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” Possibly Neil forgot the word a or else the poor sound from the moon was responsible for cutting out that one little word.
Whatever the exact words, their meaning was clear. It was indeed a landmark event in the history of the world.
Neil rigged a TV camera so viewers on Earth could watch the two men in their bulky space suits walking where no human beings had ever been before. (Their suits protected them from both the extreme heat and extreme cold on the moon.)
The astronauts collected moon rocks, took photographs, and planted an American flag. Wires made the flag look as if it were flying; otherwise it would have hung limp. (There’s no wind on the moon.) And they also left a plaque. It said, “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.” Wherever they walked they left footprints in the moon dust. Those footprints are still there today! (Again because there’s no wind on the moon.)
The landscape was basically brown and gray, and it was very dark out. Still, Neil thought the moon was beautiful. “Isn’t that something? Magnificent sight down here,” Neil said to Buzz. Both of them wished they could have stayed longer.
While Buzz and Neil were taking their tour of the moon, Mike had orbited around it fourteen times. Each time Mike was on the side of the moon that didn’t face Earth, he lost communication with NASA. During that time, if a problem arose, there was no way for him to tell NASA about it. Even so, Mike later described his time alone in space as being very peaceful.
As for Neil and Buzz, everything depended on the Eagle blasting off perfectly from the moon’s surface. Fortunately, it did. After Neil and Buzz reconnected with Columbia, they climbed back into the cabin with Mike. Then the Eagle was set adrift to orbit the moon. It had done its job. There was no need for it anymore. And besides, it couldn’t be brought back to Earth. It would have burned up on hitting the atmosphere. (The Eagle eventually crashed into the moon.)
Once Mike fired the rockets that pulled Columbia away from the moon’s gravity, the Apollo 11 crewmen were on their way home! |