President John F. Kennedy on September 12, 1962 at Rice University “We choose to go to the Moon, not because it is easy but because it is hard. Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills. Because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one that we are unwilling to postpone, and one that we intend to win.” Introduction to the BBC documentary: 13 Minutes to the Moon (Music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sExd3yNG2A NASA’s Apollo and Artemis Missions to the Moon
Apollo 15 lunar module Apollo 15 volcanic rock John W. Delano, Ph.D. (retired) Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus Dept. of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences University at Albany, State Univ. of New York Albany, NY [email protected] Mosaic from NASA’s LRO spacecraft
15 17
11 12 14 16 Class #1 (March 22, 2021) ❖ Historical context ❖ Apollo 11 mission ❖ Scientific results ❖ Apollo 12 mission ❖ Scientific results May 10, 1869 at Promontory Summit, Utah
https://railroad.lindahall.org/essays/brief-history.html Wright brothers’ first flight: December 14, 1903
https://airandspace.si.edu/multimedia-gallery/si2003-3463640jpg Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev: “We will bury you” (Speech on November 18, 1956 at Polish Embassy in Moscow) Chronology of notable events
Sputnik-1 (4 October 1957) First artificial satellite Laika (3 November 1957) First animal in orbit Explorer-1 (31 January 1958) First USA satellite NASA created by Congress (1 October 1958) Luna-3 (4 November 1959) First image of Moon’s farside Yuri Gagarin (12 April 1961) First human in orbit Alan Shepard (5 May 1961) First US suborbital flight Pres. Kennedy’s ‘Moon speeches’ (25 May 1961; 12 Sept.1962) John Glenn (20 February 1962) First American in orbit First image of the Moon’s farside by Soviet Luna-3 (4 November 1959) Rice University on September 12, 1962
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RaRC6YuYCQ
Chronology of notable events (cont’d)
Valentina Tereshkova (16 June 1963) First woman in orbit Luna-9 (31 January 1966) First robotic soft lunar landing Surveyor I (30 May 1966) First US robotic soft lunar landing X Apollo 1 fire (27 January 1967) Grissom, White, Chaffee Apollo 8 (21 December 1968) First humans to orbit Moon Apollo 11 (20 July 1969) First humans to land on Moon X Soviet N-1 Moon rocket failed: 21 Feb. 1969, 3 July 1969, 26 June 1971, 23 November 1972 X Soviet Moon program cancelled: May 1974 Saturn V N-1
Soviet N-1 rocket N-1 Launch of Soviet N-1 rocket
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amz6VjJEWKU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amz6VjJEWKU Failure of Soviet N-1 rocket on 3 July 1969 Apollo 11: Humanity’s first steps on another world July 20, 1969
John W. Delano, Ph.D. Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus [email protected] Apollo 11 crew Soviet Luna 15 spacecraft launched on 13 July 1969
Mosaic from NASA’s LRO spacecraft
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X L-20 11 X L-16 12 14 16
Apollo 11 mission
Liftoff: July 16, 1969; 9:32 a.m. EDT (1332 GMT) Lunar Orbit Arrival: July 19, 1969, 1:21 p.m. EDT (17:21 GMT) 100.9 kilometers (54.5 nmi) x 122.4 kilometers (66.1 nmi) Moon Landing: July 20, 4:17 p.m. EDT (2017 GMT) Liftoff from the Moon: July 21, 1969, 1:54 p.m. EDT (17:54 GMT) Lunar Orbit Departure: July 22, 1969, 12:55 a.m. EDT (04:55 GMT) Splashdown: July 24, 1969; 12:50 p.m. EDT (1650 GMT)
Duration of Mission: 8 days, 3 hours, 18 minutes, 35 seconds EVA duration: 2 hours, 31 minutes, 40 seconds Mass of lunar samples: 21.55 kilograms (47.51 lb) Distance traveled: 0.55 km (0.34 mi) Landing site: 00.67408° N, 23.47297° E Apollo 11 Saturn V rocket rolls out of Vertical Assembly Building on May 20, 1969
363 feet Saturn V rocket in Vehicle Assembly Building Wernher von Braun standing next to a Saturn V rocket
Apollo 11 crew walking to van for transport to Launch Complex 39A on July 16, 1969 Video of Apollo 11 launch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmHABUfjYPI Launch of Apollo 11 Saturn V on July 16, 1969
Saturn V rocket Height = 363 feet Weight = 6.2 million pounds (3,000 tons)
Staging during launch of Saturn V (First stage jettisoned; second stage ignited)
Altitude: 40 miles Downrange: 55 miles
Weight of Saturn V during ascent Weight (millions of pounds) of (millions Weight Time after liftoff (minutes)
Earthrise as viewed from lunar orbit by crew of Apollo 11 on July 19, 1969