A moon landing is defined as the arrival of a man-made object to the moon’s surface and actually making contact.The extremely popular moon landing of 1969 marked the arrival of the Apollo 11 spaceflight, carrying two human beings to the moon’s surface. This was very special as this was the first time actual human beings landed on the moon.This feat was achieved by the third Apollo Program, a program that was executed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The first-ever human to ever walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong, commander of Apollo 11, and the second was Buzz Aldrin, the lunar module pilot. Once Apollo 11 was launched, millions of people waited with bated breath to know how successful the program was. The spaceflight was launched on July 16, 1969, and after four days of traveling, on July 20, 1969, it reached the surface of the moon.This article will take you through all the interesting facts that you should know about this epic moon landing. The success of this program gave way to NASA getting more confident and launching more such programs to explore outer space in the future.Once you have finished reading this article, why not discover 1969 moon landing facts and what is the moon made of facts here on Kidadl?Facts About The First Moon LandingHere are some very interesting and probably astounding facts about the first moon landing that you will enjoy reading about.The Apollo aircraft was launched from Florida, at the Kennedy Space Center. It was launched by a rocket named Saturn V. The Saturn V was a launch vehicle that NASA used for launching heavyweight spaceflights.After getting separated from Saturn V, the Apollo spacecraft traveled for three whole days in the earth orbit until it reached the moon’s orbit. Once it reached lunar orbit, astronaut Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin moved to the lunar module and prepared for landing.The designated area of landing was named the ‘Sea of Tranquility’ by the crew.The lunar module was named ‘Eagle’ after the Apollo 11 mission emblem was designed, and it featured a prominent eagle in the forefront. However, the crew members of the Lunar Module Eagle gave it all kinds of names, starting from Chalie Brown to Snoopy, Haystack, and Snowcone before that.Even though Apollo 11, carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, reached the moon’s surface at 20.17 UTC time, Neil Armstrong walked out to the moon’s surface only 6.6 hours later, at 2.56 UTC. Buzz Aldrin closely followed about 19 minutes later.During this expedition, both of these astronauts returned to Earth with approximately 47.5 lb. (21.5 kg) of moon material, including moon rocks.The total time spent on the moon by the Apollo spacecraft was a total of 21.6 hours.Did you know that there was a third person who also played an important part in this expedition? It was Michael Collins. Michael Collins was the actual astronaut who flew on Apollo 11, while the astronaut Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the landing crew.While Neil Armstrong and Buzz Andrews landed on the moon, Michael Collins flew the Command Module all by himself for close to one whole day in the Lunar Orbit. The command module was called Columbia. After spending time on the moon, Armstrong and Aldrin lifted off and rejoined Michael Collins in the Columbia command module.Did you know that the Columbia command module is the only one ever from the Apollo 11 program that has returned to Earth? After returning back to the Earth, it was taken on a celebratory tour to different cities in the United States. After that, it was presented to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., where it still remains on display.Did you know that the whole landing and Neil Armstrong’s first step taken on the moon were broadcast live on TV? With his first step, Armstrong said the famous lines, ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’. This line remains popular, and this was indeed a giant leap for the entire world in terms of exploring outer space.President John F. Kennedy declared a national goal of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely in 1961. The entire country was elated that this national goal had been achieved.At that time, this was one of the most expensive space expeditions ever. The entire effort cost the government $25.4 billion.Challenges Faced During Moon LandingThe first lunar landing did not come without challenges. In fact, there were many instances that threatened to endanger the lives of the astronauts or cause the failure of the expedition. Check these challenges out.The lunar module had to be disconnected from the command module and make a free landing on the lunar surface. When this happened, though, there was a little bit of excess pressure in the atmosphere, and this pushed the lunar module a bit more forcefully than what was expected. As a result, the LM landed in an unforeseen, random territory, which was the first of the major landing problems. More was to come!Armstrong, during the landing process, saw that they may be landing in an area filled with boulders and craters. If they had crashed on these, then the lunar module may have gotten damaged beyond control. Thankfully, Armstrong manually guided the LM to bypass these dangers and land in a safer spot.As Armstrong and Aldrin were calculating the problems with the landing site, they ended up using more fuel than they had to. It is said that the LM landed with just 30 seconds of fuel to spare! Armstrong and Aldrin also had to handle poor communication from the ground and alarms sounding from the LM during the landing period.Since the landing happened about 4 mi (6.4 km) away from where it was originally planned, the astronauts and the ground team were unsure of what lay outside the lunar module and hence were wondering whether or not to step outside. Finally, everyone was glad the astronauts decided to do it.Once the duo decided to moonwalk, they were putting on their suits when they accidentally hit a circuit breaker switch! This switch was vital for controlling the engine that would help the LM take off from the moon and attach itself to the command module! Thankfully, Aldrin was able to right this wrong after their walk.The gravitational force on the moon is just 16.66% of that on the Earth. Therefore, trying to walk on the surface was definitely a challenge that the astronauts had to overcome.Once the crew reached back to earth, they were unable to land on the particular spot in the Pacific Ocean as decided before because of bad weather. As a result, they were directed to land at a much further spot in the ocean, and the ground team had no idea where the astronauts were until the rescue ship could reach them! This is also a reason why the camera crew was not able to take videos and pictures of the landing.Did you know that all members of the crew mission were made to quarantine themselves for two weeks after the operation? Even though the NASA team explored the surface of the moon as intensively as they could before the space program, a slight doubt about whether or not the moon may have aliens remained. As a safety precaution, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins went through medical tests too.Moon’s Surface: Described For The First TimeHow amazing would it have been to explore the moon in person? These astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Aldrin, had the chance to explore the surface for the first time. Here are some of the characteristics of the moon, described based on the first exploration.The astronauts from Apollo observed that the lunar surface was divided into highlands and maria (lowlands). The highlands are about 3 mi (4.8 km) above the general surface, while the maria are about 1.8 mi (2.9 km) below the general lunar surface. You should note that the Sea of Tranquility was a maria, chosen for landing.The lunar surface is filled with structures called craters. Craters are formed on the surface when a meteor hits the ground. The highlands, as they are higher than the ground, get hit by meteors more frequently than the maria and have more craters.Apart from these craters, the astronauts and scientists from NASA were also able to spot depression channels, mostly formed due to lava. These depression channels were called rilles. They could also see lava flows and lava tubes that may indicate that the lunar surface could have had active volcanoes at some point.The moon rocks, on close examination after taking them back to Earth, revealed very little water and a lot of volatile compounds in them.The maria surfaces mostly had a type of rock called basalt, which was derived from cooled-down lava. The highlands, however, had rocks like breccia and anorthosite, which were older than basalt.When compared to Earth, the overall density of the moon is lower. As a result, scientists believe that the moon’s surface does not contain iron in the same way that the Earth’s surface does.The First Moon MissionOn September 16, all three astronauts returned to Earth safely and spoke at a congress session. A flag of the United States that was on Apollo 11 can still be seen in the Jean P. Haydon space museum. In fact, the success of the moon landing was the basis for the funding of the Kennedy Space Center and the Johnson Space Center.The Apollo missions went on from 1961-1972. It is to be noted that the entire mission was on the verge of closing down when the Apollo 1 cabin caught fire during a prelaunch and all the astronauts inside were killed. However, NASA kept the program going, and only in 1968 did they succeed with the first crewed spacecraft.The command module was kept in various space museum centers around the country before reaching its final destination. The spacesuits of the three astronauts were displayed in the Apollo to Moon Exhibit Center in the space museum of the National Air and Space Museum.The First Moon Mission was definitely one of the biggest successes for NASA and for the United States. You should know that, though the United States took pride in sending the first man to the moon, it was the Soviet Union that actually sent a spacecraft to the surface of the moon first. This spacecraft, named Luna 2, touched the surface of the moon on September 13, 1959.Politically, people considered the moon landing more of a space race between the Soviet Union and the United States. Once the Soviet Union started sending spacecraft one after another to the moon, the US government felt excessive pressure to accelerate NASA’s efforts.Whatever the case, the 1969 moon landing was one of the most significant achievements of the United States, and Armstrong, Aldrin, and Michael Collins earned a permanent place in astronomy and science history.After the successful moon landing, the Soviet Union announced that it was unnecessary and dangerous to send human beings to the moon.The successful moon landing made astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins unforgettable names in the history of space and research. The Apollo program opened the way to helping study the moon and its surface extensively. The program, in total, bought to the Earth 842 lb. (381.9 kg) of soil, rocks, and other materials from the lunar surface.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Facts About Moon Landing then why not take a look at Moon Symbolism, or First Quarter Moon Facts here on Kidadl?
A moon landing is defined as the arrival of a man-made object to the moon’s surface and actually making contact.
