Today is MOON DAY! Remembering Apollo 11 at 39 years, and Apollo 1

Today is MOON DAY! 39 years ago today the Eagle (Apollo 11) landed on the Moon...There are many pictures here. I like to remember the first moon-landing. I hope this educates some, and brings back memories for others. Enjoy.

(thank you to NASA and Wikipedia for the pictures and info)

Although part of what Neil Armstrong said was lost in the transmission, here is what he said as he stepped off the LM (the Eagle lander of Apollo 11); “...that's one small step for (a) man, one giant-leap for mankind.” Somehow in the speech-transmission the “a” was lost.

For those of us who were alive on July 20, 1969, do you remember where you were? What was on your mind as Neil took the first step, followed minutes later by Buzz Aldrin, at Tranquility Base, Moon?

President John F. Kennedy had challenged America to put a man-on-the-moon before the end of the sixth decade (1960s) of the Twentieth Century. I, often, think how sad it was that President Kennedy was not with us to see the dream realized.

Do you ever wonder what became of the three astronauts of Apollo 11? And, then, do you know what the LM of Apollo 11 had, that no other LM had, and the continuing controversy that the added extra pieces have caused?

Larger image of "Aldrin on Moon" is viewable at:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Aldrin_Apollo_11.jpg

Larger map viewable at:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/A11vsFootball.gif/800px-A11vsFootball.gif

Larger view of plaque available at: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/Apollo11Plaque.jpg/800px-Apollo11Plaque.jpg

On May 25, 1961, Kennedy announced his support for the Apollo program as part of a special address to a joint session of Congress:

"First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important in the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish." --President John F. Kennedy

Neil Alden Armstrong

Read all about Neil Armstrong at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Armstrong

Born August 5, 1930. Neil will be 78 year old on August 5, 2008. Happy Birthday Neil!

(And, although I have two Nasa photographs with the Moon Landing stamp attached to each, with their Tranquility Base, Moon July 20, 1969 postmark, as, well, as, the First Day of Issue postmark on each (September 9, 1969), and, always, hoped before I die to get your autograph on them, I do respect your wishes about not giving autographs because people have exploited your signature, these two pictures will always remain two of my most cherished possessions. Upon my death they will be donated to the Oregon Historical Society.)

One of the few photos of Armstrong working on the LM (Eagle)

Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin:

Buzz at the LM Eagle

On Sept. 9, 2002, after being called a liar, and a coward, by a Hollywood film producer who accused Aldrin of never going to the moon, Buzz popped him in the mouth. The Beverly Hills Police refused to press charges. Right on, Buzz!!

Read all about Buzz Aldrin at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzz_Aldrin

And, this site is SUPERB!
http://www.BuzzAldrin.com

Michael Collins:

"The famous mission patch of Apollo 11 was the creation of Collins. Jim Lovell, the backup commander, mentioned the idea of eagles, a symbol of the United States. Collins liked the idea and found a photo in a National Geographic magazine, traced it and added the lunar surface below and Earth in the background."

Read all about Michael Collins at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Collins_(astronaut)

Remembering Apollo 1:
From left, Apollo 1 astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee pose in front of their Saturn 1 launch vehicle at Launch Complex 34 at the Kennedy Space Center.

On the morning of Jan. 27, 1967, the crew was sitting atop the launch pad for a pre-launch test when a fire broke out in their capsule. The investigation into the fatal accident led to major design changes, making the Apollo spacecraft safer for the coming journeys to the moon.

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And, lastly, what did the Apollo 11 LM have that no other LM had? Big pods on its landing feet. Why? Because scientists thought there would be many feet of moon-dust on the surface. The pods would keep the LM from sinking into the moon-dust. It was thought that if the moon and the Earth were of similar age there would be 4.5 billion years worth of moon-dust.

That didn't prove to be true. And, I have not researched this thought-idea much, but, I think it proved out, in depth of moon-dust, there was only enough dust to cover an age-time-frame of 6,000-8,000 years. Many Christians believe the Earth is only 6000 to 8000 years old.

It remains a topic open for discussion...
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Other pictures:
NASA Flash gallery:
http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/apollo11/gallery_index.html

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