3.5 Entering the Age of Space Flight
169
Neil A. Armstrong (1930−2012), Edwin E. Aldrin (1930−) and Michael Collins
(1930−) took the Apollo-11 to carry out the lunar landing mission. At about 109 h
and 24 min after the launch, Armstrong first stepped onto the surface of the Moon, and
announced by radio: “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind”.
About 19 min later, Aldrin followed him. During their moon walk of more than two
hours, Armstrong and Aldrin inserted the U.S. national flag, and set up a device to
measure the composition of the solar wind reaching the Moon, a device to receive
laser beams from astronomical observatories on the Earth to determine the exact
distance between the two bodies apart from one another, and a passive seismometer
to measure moonquakes and meteor impacts long after the astronauts had returned
home. They also took about 23 kg of rock and soil samples, took many photographs,
and maintained constant communication with the mission control center in Houston,
Texas. After Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21 h and 36 min on the lunar surface at a
site named Tranquility Base and at the ascent stage of the LM, The ascent engines
ignited and took off while the descent stage was left on the lunar surface. The ascent
stage rendezvoused and docked with the CSM in the lunar orbit, and the trip back
to the Earth began soon afterward. On July 24, the CM of the Apollo-11 splashed
down in the Pacific Ocean about 1400 km west of Hawaii, and the three astronauts
returned to the Earth safely. The Apollo-11 successfully completed the mission to
the Moon, and finally turned human’s dream into reality. It is also a symbol and peak
for humanity to enter the age of space flight in a real sense.
Thereafter, from November 1969 to December 1972, six series of the spaceships
from Apollo-12 through Apollo-17 were launched sequentially by the NASA. Among
them, on April 11, 1970, the Apollo-13 was launched into the Earth orbit. However,
the oxygen tanks in the SM exploded on the way to the Moon, and consequently the
control center instructed the astronauts to give up the mission to the Moon. The three
astronauts by the Apollo-13 relied on the power, water, air and food provided by the
LM to successfully bypass the Moon and finally return to the Earth safely. The other
five spacecrafts successfully landed on the surface of the Moon, and the astronauts
carried out relevant scientific experiments and equipment placements on the surface.
On July 26, 1971, the Apollo-15 with three astronauts was launched successfully,
to explore the Hadley-Apennine region, set up and activate lunar surface scientific
experiments, make engineering evaluations of new Apollo equipment, and conduct
lunar orbital experiments and photographic tasks. The astronauts of the Apollo15 first used the Lunar Roving Vehicle on the Moon’s surface, making its range
of activity reached 35 km, and widely carried out sample collections and related
scientific experiments. The Apollo-15 set several new records for crewed spaceflight,
such as the heaviest payload and the longest time in the lunar orbit, the maximum
radial distance traveled on the lunar surface, and the longest crewed lunar mission.
On August 7, 1971, the CM of the Apollo-15 carrying three-astronaut crew returned
to the Earth safely. The Apollo-17 was launched on December 7, 1972, and 12 days
later, returned to the Earth safely, which was the last mission of the Apollo Program.
Its crew consisted of Commander Eugene A. Cernan, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison
H. Schmitt, and Command Module Pilot Ronald E. Evans, of which Schmitt was
the first scientist-astronaut to land on the Moon. In the mission, the sixth automated
169
Neil A. Armstrong (1930−2012), Edwin E. Aldrin (1930−) and Michael Collins
(1930−) took the Apollo-11 to carry out the lunar landing mission. At about 109 h
and 24 min after the launch, Armstrong first stepped onto the surface of the Moon, and
announced by radio: “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind”.
About 19 min later, Aldrin followed him. During their moon walk of more than two
hours, Armstrong and Aldrin inserted the U.S. national flag, and set up a device to
measure the composition of the solar wind reaching the Moon, a device to receive
laser beams from astronomical observatories on the Earth to determine the exact
distance between the two bodies apart from one another, and a passive seismometer
to measure moonquakes and meteor impacts long after the astronauts had returned
home. They also took about 23 kg of rock and soil samples, took many photographs,
and maintained constant communication with the mission control center in Houston,
Texas. After Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21 h and 36 min on the lunar surface at a
site named Tranquility Base and at the ascent stage of the LM, The ascent engines
ignited and took off while the descent stage was left on the lunar surface. The ascent
stage rendezvoused and docked with the CSM in the lunar orbit, and the trip back
to the Earth began soon afterward. On July 24, the CM of the Apollo-11 splashed
down in the Pacific Ocean about 1400 km west of Hawaii, and the three astronauts
returned to the Earth safely. The Apollo-11 successfully completed the mission to
the Moon, and finally turned human’s dream into reality. It is also a symbol and peak
for humanity to enter the age of space flight in a real sense.
Thereafter, from November 1969 to December 1972, six series of the spaceships
from Apollo-12 through Apollo-17 were launched sequentially by the NASA. Among
them, on April 11, 1970, the Apollo-13 was launched into the Earth orbit. However,
the oxygen tanks in the SM exploded on the way to the Moon, and consequently the
control center instructed the astronauts to give up the mission to the Moon. The three
astronauts by the Apollo-13 relied on the power, water, air and food provided by the
LM to successfully bypass the Moon and finally return to the Earth safely. The other
five spacecrafts successfully landed on the surface of the Moon, and the astronauts
carried out relevant scientific experiments and equipment placements on the surface.
On July 26, 1971, the Apollo-15 with three astronauts was launched successfully,
to explore the Hadley-Apennine region, set up and activate lunar surface scientific
experiments, make engineering evaluations of new Apollo equipment, and conduct
lunar orbital experiments and photographic tasks. The astronauts of the Apollo15 first used the Lunar Roving Vehicle on the Moon’s surface, making its range
of activity reached 35 km, and widely carried out sample collections and related
scientific experiments. The Apollo-15 set several new records for crewed spaceflight,
such as the heaviest payload and the longest time in the lunar orbit, the maximum
radial distance traveled on the lunar surface, and the longest crewed lunar mission.
On August 7, 1971, the CM of the Apollo-15 carrying three-astronaut crew returned
to the Earth safely. The Apollo-17 was launched on December 7, 1972, and 12 days
later, returned to the Earth safely, which was the last mission of the Apollo Program.
Its crew consisted of Commander Eugene A. Cernan, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison
H. Schmitt, and Command Module Pilot Ronald E. Evans, of which Schmitt was
the first scientist-astronaut to land on the Moon. In the mission, the sixth automated