Apollo 11: what is the first thing that says the second man who walked on the Moon and 5 other little known stories of the great feat

Fifty years ago, a long-standing dream was realized: to arrive and return from the Moon, this star so familiar but so unknown … a story with an infinity of interesting details.

"We chose to go to the moon, not because it's easy, but because it's difficult," said the president of the United States.

John F. Kennedy

in September 1962.

This sentence is one of those that have remained in the memory of his generation and the following are related to the historical event.

But this goal was accompanied by a deadline: to bring a man to the Moon and bring him back to Earth was to be reached before the end of this decade.

Kennedy, murdered in 1963, never knew if his country would win this "space race" against his rival, the Soviet Union, which had already marked two milestones by putting into orbit the first satellite (the " Sputnik, "in 1957) and, more importantly, by sending the first man to space (Yuri Gagarin, April 12, 1961).

In the middle of the Cold War, the United States needed his first step on this stage to be of such magnitude that he equaled or surpbaded what Moscow had given.

And shortly before the expiry of Kennedy's mandate, NASA had succeeded: on July 20, 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong marked history by becoming the first man to set foot on the moon.

The phrase that he uttered by putting his left foot on the surface of our natural satellite has become one of the most well-known quotes in history: "A small step for the human , a big step for humanity ".

But Armstrong was not alone. Michael Collins and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin accompanied him in the risky mission of Apollo 11.

The phrase that Armostrong pronounced by supporting the left foot on the surface of our natural satellite has become one of the most well known quotes in history: "A small step for the human , a big step for humanity "

Although Collins was not in the lunar module that landed on the Moon (there was only room for two astronauts), the Aldrin pilot was present and also descended to admire the scenery.

What did he say when he got on the moon? This is one of the lesser-known but interesting and amusing details of the 50-year-old mission that had been a shared dream since time immemorial.

1. Just in case I

Although insurance was created to compensate those who might go around the world's seas, insurance companies were reluctant to offer their services to other travelers: those of space.

The adventure seemed too dangerous.

NASA

This gave astronauts basic life insurance, but Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins remained concerned about the future of their families in the event of a disaster.

They have therefore developed a strategy: they have signed commemorative envelopes of the Apollo 11 mission, adorned with images and stamps on the subject.

They called them "insurance" because, if they died, their families could sell them to collectors.

2. Just in case II

Of course, astronauts were not the only ones planning the worst case scenario.

If all else failed, who should speak to the Americans and the world was the president, then Richard Nixon … and the time would not be propitious to improvise.

Thus, the editor of the speech of the president, Bill Safire, had to prepare a speech that nobody wanted to hear: the one who deplored the death of the astronauts.

Having spoken to NASA officials, Bill knew that it was very likely that such a fatality would occur.

The text entitled "In the event of a lunar disaster" praises, with fine and exhilarating words, the courage, the sacrifice and the spirit of exploration of men.

"Fate wanted the men who went to the moon to explore in peace to stay on the moon and rest in peace, these brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope that we save them, that there is hope for humanity in its sacrifice.

Both gave their lives in the noblest goal of humanity: the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their family and friends. They will be mourned by the nation. They will be mourned by the peoples of the world. They will be mourned by a mother Earth who dared to send two of her children to the unknown.

In their exploration, they invited the peoples of the world to feel as such; in their sacrifice they more closely bind human fraternity.

In ancient times, men looked at the stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. At the moment, we are doing the same thing, but our heroes are men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow you and you will surely find your way home. The search for a man will not be refused. But these men were the first and will continue to be first in our hearts.

Any human being who looks at the moon in the coming nights will know that in a corner of another world, humanity will be forever. "

3. On board with a nuclear bomb

A giant rocket of Saturn V was the one that fired into space at Apollo 11 and its crew. With so much power, it was like driving a nuclear bomb.

Saturn V weighed more than 2.8 million kilograms. Its height was 111 meters, 18 more than the Statue of Liberty.

It worked in three stages and separated from the ship after doing its work.

The rocket generated 34.5 million newtons of thrust at launch. A Newton is the force needed to provide an acceleration of 1 m / s2 to an object of 1 kg of mbad.

Due to the heat generated, Saturn V required a 5-kilometer exclusion zone around the launch pad.

Spectators only heard the engines spin 15 seconds later. For them, Saturn V apparently took off in silence.

4. Created by a Nazi

The director of the Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA's first headquarters, was Professor Wernher Von Braun, a former Nazi scientist and brain behind Saturn V.

The Saturn V was based on the technology developed by Von Braun for the Adolf Hitler V-2 rocket program during the Second World War.

A singular career: from the Third Reich to the director of the center responsible for developing Saturn launchers for the Apollo program in the United States.

Later, as an American citizen, Von Braun became one of the teams of physicists and engineers of the Third Reich who worked for NASA and who was known for his rigorous scientific approach.

Some critics said that he was too cautious and accused him of bringing a man into space.

But Von Braun knew that Apollo 11 could change everything.

5. A fire on the moon

Who better to cover the most important news of the decade or – depending on the point of view – of the century, than one of the most famous writers of the United States, Norman Mailer?

"The moon was a voice that did not speak, a story whose extension, fully revealed, was however unable to give answers," wrote Mailer.

Not only was he the great innovator of literary journalism, but he had also studied aerospace engineering at Harvard University.

Life magazine hired him and sent him to Houston and Kennedy to witness the flight of Apollo 11 and to talk about this unprecedented event.

Mailer has arrived with the hope of being involved in an atmosphere of excitement, intrigue and magic.

However, while he was wandering around the Manned Spacecraft Center, it seemed to him that NASA was a barren and uninteresting place.

The NASA facility environment did not please him. In windowless offices, staff only ate while watching their screens. They seemed to be in love with computers.

He imagined with disgust a future in which everything was done digitally, even meetings. Nevertheless, he was immersed in the excitement of the event.

"Everyone was preparing to attend the great end of the greatest week since the birth of Jesus Christ (…)

The loose phrases came through the static electricity of the speakers.

"The eagle is great, everything is fine," reached his ears, with the altitude data.

"Everything is ready for landing, finish!

"Agreement, ready for disembarkation, 900 meters".

Thus (…), they prepared to enter through a historical event whose importance could even equal that of death (…)

Is it also the experience of being about to be born? Did you expect one in a modern room, among strangers, while they were announcing numbers ?: Alma number 77-48-16, list, go to the CX area, will be designed at 4:04 pm & # 39; 39; (…)

– & # 39; Houston, here is the base of tranquility. The eagle has landed.

It was the voice of Armstrong, the serene voice of the city's greatest boy, the one who pulls you out of the sea when you drown and you escape before you can offer a reward.

(…)

A surface marked by mysteries.

The moon has spoken of holes, tortures, scars, burns, and magma melt-out.

Assault, gutted, dismembered, twisted, beaten, a country of deserts in the form of circles from 80 to 130 kilometers long, a country of dark rings, some taller than the Himalayas, a land of hollow recesses and craters endless craters craters inside, which, in turn, resided in other craters … ".

These are some of the 115,000 words recorded in the book "A Fire on the Moon", published in series in three issues of Life magazine between 1969 and 1970, and published in book form.

6. The second step

On July 21 at 02:56:15 GMT, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the moon.

While pronouncing the 13 words carefully chosen by NASA that marked the story, Aldrin filmed it from the lunar module. After 19 minutes, he joins Armstrong on the surface.

He carefully closed the cabin door and observed the gray-white lunar landscape.

They were about 380,000 kilometers from the Earth and it looked like a marble marble.

"Nice view," Aldrin said. After Armstrong had acquiesced, he added, "A magnificent desolation."

And what did the third say?

"Whoopee! Man, that might have been a small step for Neil (Armstrong), but it was a big step for me!" Said Charles Conrad Jr, commander of Apollo 12, becoming the third man to walk on the moon. November 20, 1969.