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On July 20, 1969, Apollo astronaut Fred Haise was at the NASA control mission in Houston when the lunar module Eagle descended to the surface of the Moon.
As a pilot of the lunar rescue module with Buzz Aldrin, Haise was on hand to provide support to the Apollo 11 crew and army of NASA officials at Mission Control.
"It was tense because it was the real thing now," he told Fox News, at a flagship event of Christie's auction "A giant step forward" : Celebrate the exploration of space fifty years after Apollo 11 ".
50 YEARS APOLLO 11, THE SONS OF NEIL ARMSTRONG DESCRIBE THE DAY OF THEIR DAD ON THE MOON
He remembers in particular the annoying seconds that seemed to indicate that the landing could be interrupted as a result of a fuel problem.
The Apollo 11 Eagle lunar module, in a landing configuration, photographed in lunar orbit from the Columbia Command and Service Module.
(NASA)
"The alarms from the computer got tense and, fortunately, very quickly, the problem was not considered sufficient to cause an abortion," he told Fox News. "So, obviously, it was a big thing to do that."
Haise is always impressed by the team work that allowed the incredible feat of landing on the moon.
MICHAEL COLLINS OF APOLLO 11: REFLECTION ON THE MOON HISTORIC LANDING: "WE ARE REGULAR ASTRONAUTS"
"Buzz was there, nourishing [Neil Armstrong] the right information he needed to match what he was seeing through the window [of the Eagle lunar module], "he said." It's really a role for two people, although manually controlling the vehicle belongs to the commander, but it took the help of two to do the mission. "
Photo of the archive – Spacecraft communicators are photographed while they keep in touch with Apollo 11 astronauts during their lunar landing mission on July 20, 1969. From left to right astronauts Charles M. Duke Jr., James A. Lovell Jr. and Fred W Haise Jr.
(NASA)
"And, of course, in this case, using Mission Control helps to quickly manage these alarms and to have the right people, even in the background, able to do without them and not to disturb the crew" , he added.
Haise traveled to space herself during the unfortunate Apollo 13 mission in 1970 and remained in the Apollo program until 1979. Unfortunately, funding problems prevented her from walking on the moon.
APOLLO 11 ASTRONAUT MICHAEL COLLINS REVEALS A PICTURE OF THE CREW SESSION OF MOON LANDING, IT'S FIND IN THE BACKGROUND OF A BOX & # 39;
Only 12 men, all Americans, walked on the moon.
Fifty years after the dramatic events of July 20, 1969, America is once again on the moon. The United States wants to land the next man and the first woman on the moon by 2024, to send a human mission to Mars in the 2030s. The astronauts will also be the first humans to land at the South Pole from the moon.
Haise said the funding would be critical to guarantee the return of the American boots to the moon. "If the necessary funds are not in place to finance an appropriate plan, you will not be able to go anywhere," he said. "That's the key, it's the way it's supported beyond mandates."
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Associated Press contributed to this article. Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
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