Launch of Apollo 11: Meet the Women at the Origin of NASA's Historic Mission on the Moon

Tuesday marks the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of three men in space suits in the greatest scientific adventure of all time. Like the astronauts of Apollo 11 towards the Moon, NASA women were tracing new tracks on the Earth.

Poppy Northcutt, Joann Morgan and Margaret Hamilton were pioneers, "hidden characters" essential to the success of the Apollo 11 mission. Morgan said her life had changed.

"What it said to me and what counted so much for me is:" Hey, I'm really part of this team, "she said.

She has been accepted into a profession that is not used to women.

"My manager said," I want Joann at the console. She is my best communicator. That's it, "Morgan said.

She listened to the communications and was the problem and was the only woman in the firing range to launch the Saturn V rocket.

As the astronauts headed for the Moon, the task of alerting them to any problem lay with Hamilton of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his team.

"You had to solve problems that had never been solved before," Hamilton said.

His group wrote the lunar guidance software for the LG and they had to plan every eventuality.

"You had to say," And if the astronaut put that typing on. What are we doing to recover, "she said.

Something unexpected happened as Eagle approached the surface of the moon, which could have compromised the mission.

"My first thought was:" How can this happen now? "Personally, I remember it as pure terror," Hamilton said.

There was no need to abort, his software was fine.

"It was the first time that a man was walking on the moon and the first software on his moon," Hamilton said.

Norah O & # 39; Donnell with Poppy Northcutt.

CBS News

But the most critical phase of the mission was yet to come. Northcutt, the only woman to control the mission, calculated the maneuvers that would bring these astronauts home.

"It's very nerve-wracking – it does not matter how successful any other step is if you do not get it back safely," Northcutt said. "It was also an opportunity, I felt, to encourage other women to get into science and technology and to understand that they could do this job."

It's a role that she understood important.

"I've received letters from all over the world, little girls and boys saying," I did not know women could do it, "said Northcutt." So I was very aware of it. "

CBS News' special one-hour show called "Man on the Moon", hosted by O & # 39; Donnell, will air on Tuesday, July 16th starting at 10pm. ET / PT.