“We will do everything possible to send a man and a woman who will be the first Bulgarian astronauts to NASA, so that we do not look down at the ground, out of shame, but so that we start looking up - to the stars”, explained last year the leader of “There is such a people” Slavi Trifonov.
Today, dear reader of FACT, we will also remind you of the most anticipated mission of all, “Apollo 11”. It was the first mission with a manned spacecraft, whose crew reached and successfully landed on the Moon. The goal of the mission was to land people on the Moon and return them successfully to Earth. The astronauts chosen for the big event were: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin Aldrin, who had already flown in space with the Gemini program. The ship was launched on July 16, 1969 at 13:32:00 (UT) from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.
On July 20, the ship reached the Moon. The Apollo 11 crew stopped work for a final rest before the big moment. Armstrong and Aldrin entered the lunar module "Eagle" and began preparations for the lunar landing. Collins was supposed to make a final inspection of the equipment and, after determining that everything was going according to plan, joked "I think the machine is working and everything is fine except for the fact that you are upside down".
The pilot of the lunar module, Buzz Aldrin, carefully controlled the machine on the way to the Moon. They landed in the Sea of Tranquility, 40 seconds later than expected at 20:17 Universal Time (UT) on July 20, as Aldrin had to avoid a large boulder. It took six hours to prepare for the next stage - exiting the lunar module and stepping onto the Moon. At 02:56:20 (UT) on July 20, Houston gave the green signal. "This is Houston Base, exit cleared, we're breathing with you guys!" Armstrong finally had permission to step out of the lunar module. Now he had to find the courage. At 04:55 (UT) on July 20, Neil Armstrong opened the hatch and climbed down the ladder. He took three small steps, becoming the first person to set foot on the lunar surface. He said: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind!" Unfortunately, a communications system failure prevented the world from hearing this memorable phrase.
The Apollo camera was mounted on one of the legs of the lunar module to broadcast and film this world-famous event. Aldrin joined Armstrong 19 minutes later, saying, "Magnificent solitude."
After their landing on the moon, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin removed a steel plate that had been attached to one of the legs of the lunar module, stood in front of the camera, and read to the television audience what was written on it: "Here men of planet Earth, first set foot on the moon, July 1969 A.D. We come in peace, on behalf of all mankind.” ("Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.") The plaque was signed by Armstrong, Collins, Aldrin and US President Richard Nixon. The astronauts planted the American flag, which proved to be quite difficult, because the lunar surface turned out to be harder than they expected.
During their stay on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin were connected with US President Richard Nixon. The conversation they had became known as the “most historic phone call” ever received. The president said to them: “Because of what you did, God became a part of man's life?”.
The stay of the two astronauts was limited, everything had to be on schedule. They had limited time for some scientific research. Unfortunately, they took very few photographs, absorbed in their work. Analyzing this fact, Aldrin later said: "This is my mistake, maybe, but we never simulated this training.''
After taking off from the lunar surface, the lunar module docked with the command module and the lunar samples were transferred to the ship. Later, the lunar module was abandoned and the astronauts headed back to Earth. The return was relatively uneventful. Only one malfunction occurred during the return flight, which was minor and quickly fixed. After 2 and a half days of travel, the astronauts were ready to enter the Earth's atmosphere. The journey ended at 16:50 (UT) on July 24, 1969, when Columbia splashed down 812 nautical miles northeast of Hawaii, returning safely with the three astronauts.
The Apollo 11 astronauts were given a hero's welcome. A few days before Apollo 11 splashdown, Aldrin said, "We stand here as a symbol of man's insatiable curiosity to explore the unknown." With the success of Apollo 11, the national goal, originally set by President John F. Kennedy, of landing men on the Moon and returning them to Earth, was achieved. NASA's official statement called the Apollo 11 mission "Where Man Has Never Gone: The Story of the Apollo Lunar Expeditions."