Brown
Penultimate Amazing
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2001
- Messages
- 12,984
Thirty-five years ago, 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the surface of the moon in a lunar module named Eagle.
The lunar module had overshot its target landing area, and Armstrong was looking for a place to set down. Only seconds remained before fuel would run low and Armstrong would have to abort. Aldrin provided the audible commentary, describing the lateral motion of Eagle and its descent.
When the extensions on the legs of the lunar module touched the surface, a small light in the module came on. "Contact light," Aldrin said (arguably the first words spoken from lunar surface). "Okay, engine stop," Armstrong replied, shutting off the engine and letting the lunar module hop onto the surface. The two men quickly went through the landing checklist. "We copy you down, Eagle," said Houston (per Charlie Duke), which recognized that the men were following post-landing procedures and knew that the lunar module had indeed landed safely.
Moments later, Armstrong confirmed the fact for the rest of the world: "Houston, Tranquility base here. The Eagle has landed."
"Roger, Tranquility, we copy you on the ground," said Houston, repeating that it was aware that Eagle was resting on the surface. Houston added that there were a bunch of guys in the room about to turn blue. "We're breathin' again, thanks a lot!"
For the rest of us, we had no clue about the drama. The events themselves were dramatic and undeniably historic, but many of us did not know how dramatic they were.
Shoot, I remember that day pretty well, even though I was a kid. My parents and I did not know that Armstrong had overshot his landing area or that he was low on fuel. We assumed that the folks in mission control would be holding their breath because of the excitement of the thing, not because Armstrong was cutting it close in the fuel department. We did not understand the significance of the alarms sounding in the lunar module (or why the decision was made to ignore them). Many of us assumed that "contact light" meant that there had been light contact with the surface, but not a landing. Many of us also assumed that "We copy you down, Eagle" meant that Houston was acknowledging that the lunar module was going down, not that it was actually down on the surface already.
But even without knowing the story, it was plenty darn thrilling.
Later that night, my family I watched as grainy black-and white pictures showed Armstrong's ghostly form descending the ladder. "ARMSTRONG ON MOON," said text on the television picture, and Walter Cronkite expressed awe that a man was standing on the surface of the moon. Actually, Armstrong was standing on the landing pad of the lunar module, not on the surface of the moon. Almost lost in Cronkite's commentary and our own excitement was Armstrong's announcement that he was going to "step off the foot of the LEM now."
"That's one small step for man," Armstrong said, and then he paused. "One giant leap... for mankind."
Edited to correct typo.
The lunar module had overshot its target landing area, and Armstrong was looking for a place to set down. Only seconds remained before fuel would run low and Armstrong would have to abort. Aldrin provided the audible commentary, describing the lateral motion of Eagle and its descent.
When the extensions on the legs of the lunar module touched the surface, a small light in the module came on. "Contact light," Aldrin said (arguably the first words spoken from lunar surface). "Okay, engine stop," Armstrong replied, shutting off the engine and letting the lunar module hop onto the surface. The two men quickly went through the landing checklist. "We copy you down, Eagle," said Houston (per Charlie Duke), which recognized that the men were following post-landing procedures and knew that the lunar module had indeed landed safely.
Moments later, Armstrong confirmed the fact for the rest of the world: "Houston, Tranquility base here. The Eagle has landed."
"Roger, Tranquility, we copy you on the ground," said Houston, repeating that it was aware that Eagle was resting on the surface. Houston added that there were a bunch of guys in the room about to turn blue. "We're breathin' again, thanks a lot!"
For the rest of us, we had no clue about the drama. The events themselves were dramatic and undeniably historic, but many of us did not know how dramatic they were.
Shoot, I remember that day pretty well, even though I was a kid. My parents and I did not know that Armstrong had overshot his landing area or that he was low on fuel. We assumed that the folks in mission control would be holding their breath because of the excitement of the thing, not because Armstrong was cutting it close in the fuel department. We did not understand the significance of the alarms sounding in the lunar module (or why the decision was made to ignore them). Many of us assumed that "contact light" meant that there had been light contact with the surface, but not a landing. Many of us also assumed that "We copy you down, Eagle" meant that Houston was acknowledging that the lunar module was going down, not that it was actually down on the surface already.
But even without knowing the story, it was plenty darn thrilling.
Later that night, my family I watched as grainy black-and white pictures showed Armstrong's ghostly form descending the ladder. "ARMSTRONG ON MOON," said text on the television picture, and Walter Cronkite expressed awe that a man was standing on the surface of the moon. Actually, Armstrong was standing on the landing pad of the lunar module, not on the surface of the moon. Almost lost in Cronkite's commentary and our own excitement was Armstrong's announcement that he was going to "step off the foot of the LEM now."
"That's one small step for man," Armstrong said, and then he paused. "One giant leap... for mankind."
Edited to correct typo.
