On 20th July 1969, the Eagle lunar landing module, carrying U.S. astronauts landed on the Moon, and several hours later Armstrong became the first person to set foot on its surface. In the history of the Moon Landing, that day was indeed an iconic one, with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) becoming the first in the world to send humans to the moon. As the world celebrates this momentous occasion, let us go back in time and know more about the Apollo 11 moon landing and the date of first moon landing. As a bonus, we will also look at some first moon landing facts, and know more about the next mission to the moon.
Apollo 11 Moon Landing – Day And Date Of First Moon Landing
The first spaceflight armed with humans to land on the moon – was Apollo 11. At 02:56 UTC on July 21st, 1969, six hours and thirty-nine minutes after the landing of Apollo Lunar Module Eagle at 20:17 UTC on July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon. 19 minutes later, on the date of first moon landing, Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin joined Neil Armstrong and became the second human to set foot on the moon.
Around 2.25 hours were spent by Aldrin and Armstrong exploring and going around the site they had named ‘Tranquility Base’ on landing. They collected about 21.5 kilograms of lunar material, including lunar sand, to bring back to Earth for research purposes, as the pilot, Michael Collins flew the Command Module Columbia for 21 hours and 36 minutes in lunar orbit.
While Armstrong spent 21 hours and 36 minutes on the surface of the moon, Aldrin spent slightly less than 21 hours and 15 minutes, having stepped foot on the moon 19 minutes after Armstrong. After spending such a humongous amount of time on the moon, both astronauts returned to their spaceflight and spent seven hours resting, post which they had to leave to return back to Earth.
While on the moon, Neil Armstrong said an iconic sentence that is now etched in every space fan’s heart –
“That’s one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind.”
Now that we know about the first moon landing by Apollo 11, let’s look at the history of the moon landing.
History Of The Moon Landing
Neil Armstrong, in the history of the moon landing, was the first man to step on the soft, sandy surface of the moon. However, many others apart from these legends have too stepped on the moon, etching their names into the books of space history forever. Let us have a look at some of them!
Second Man On The Moon
Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin, an American former engineer, fighter pilot, and astronaut was the second man on the moon. Apart from the prominent Apollo 11 moon landing mission, he is also very famous for his three spacewalks as the 1966 Gemini mission pilot. He is now 92 years old and lives in his house in Montclair, New Jersey.
First Woman On The Moon
It is surprising to know that no woman on the moon has ever set foot on the moon, to date. Only men have walked on the moon, though NASA astronaut Christina Koch is training to go to the moon in the near future.
First Moon Landing Indian
Social media has been claiming for years that Rakesh Sharma is the first Indian to step on the moon. However, we performed a fact check and found out that these claims are false. No Indian, or in fact, a citizen of any other country except for the United States, has ever stepped foot on the moon.
When Rakesh Sharma was requested for a comment on the same, he said, “You got to first cut your teeth in making humans survive in the near-Earth orbit. We have not yet reached there. So we’ll have to wait till we have enough expertise.” He also denied all claims of him setting foot on the moon, “I have never been to the moon. But social media for years has been saying that I’ve been to the moon. I never visit social media, so I’ve never felt the need to correct these things.”
Also Read- Men And Women In Space – How Space Treats Both genders?
First Moon Landing Facts
Here are some interesting and lesser-known first moon landing facts, curated especially for you:
- It took the astronauts over 4 days to reach the moon.
- The crew had to encounter a few problems before landing on the moon.
- The ship missed the landing site by about 4 miles and had to quickly find a replacement landing site as time was running out on the date of first moon landing.
- Neil Armstrong had just 60 seconds and 5% fuel left to land the Lunar Module.
- To express gratitude for his safety, Buzz Aldrin took communion on the moon.
- For a whole 21 hours and 36 minutes, the Lunar Module remained on the moon’s surface.
- The astronauts had to splash down on Earth and get recovered by the aircraft carrier USS Hornet.
- Breaking all records, nearly 650 million people tuned in to watch the live broadcast on television.
- Bill Kaysing was a major opposer of all Apollo missions and believed that all moon landings were fake. He even published a pamphlet named ‘We Never Went to the Moon: America’s 30 Billion Dollar Swindle’.
Also Read- Famous Female Astronauts who Pioneered Spaceflight
Why Nobody Has Visited the Moon In Almost 50 Years
Why has nobody visited the moon in almost 50 years? The answer is simple – money and politics. The first time humans visited the moon was in 1969, and the latest was in 1972. The 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing was given priority to establish the United States’ superior world status, in competition with Russia.
The costs of sending a manned craft to the moon are very high, according to sources. NASA’s budget stands at 0.4% of the Federal budget, which is very less than what NASA requires to send a manned craft to the moon. On top of this, garnering political support is very difficult for such missions, say officials. Changes in the president have also brought a change in NASA’s expense priorities, which has not allowed them to focus on a particular mission. However, money and politics are just the two topmost causes of not visiting the moon.
Other reasons include the moon’s unsuitable habitat and constant weather changes on the surface of the moon. Officials suggest that private giants like SpaceX and Blue Origin could take the lead in such missions, due to the abundance of resources and scarcity of political pressure there.
Next Mission To The Moon
The next mission to the moon is a partnership between South Korea and the United States of America. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), which is leading the mission, has named the spacecraft Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO). SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is going to carry the lunar orbiter to space, and the scheduled launch date is 2nd August 2022.
Apart from this, 35+ missions to the moon have been scheduled for the next six to seven years, out of which one mission is India’s very own Chandrayaan 3. To view a list of the next mission to the moon, click here.
Also Read- NASA Space Pictures – View James Webb Space Telescope Images
Conclusion
Sending manned spacecraft to the moon is an exceptional feat in itself. NASA, by leading 6 such successful missions, has proved its worth in the field of space research. ISRO, on the other hand, keeps its growth continuing and is soon going to be leading many more missions and collaborations with other countries, as per sources.
After reading today’s article, you now are fully equipped with knowledge about the Apollo 11 moon landing, the date of first moon landing, and the first moon landing facts. The next mission to the moon is going to be led by South Korea’s space research organization Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), in collaboration with USA space research giant SpaceX, led by Elon Musk.
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