HTTP://WWW.POPSCI.COM/MILITARY-AVIATION-AMP-SPACE/ARTICLE/2009-06/40-YEARS-LATER-TEN-THINGS-YOU- DIDNT-KNOW-ABOUT-APOLLO-II-MOON-LANDING TEN THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE APOLLO 11 MOON LANDING

By Craig Nelson Posted 07.13.2009 at 12:09 pm 40 Comments

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Camera Shy Neil Armstrong's reflection in Buzz Aldrin's visor is one of the few photos of Armstrong on the moon NASA

This month marks the 40th anniversary of humankind's first steps on the moon. Auspiciously timed is Craig Nelson's new book, Rocket Men--one of the most detailed accounts of the period leading up to the first manned moon mission. Here, we have ten little-known Apollo 11 facts unearthed by Nelson during his research. 1. The Apollo's Saturn rockets were packed with enough fuel to throw 100-pound shrapnel three miles, and NASA couldn't rule out the possibility that they might explode on takeoff. NASA seated its VIP spectators three and a half miles from the launchpad.

2. The Apollo computers had less processing power than a cellphone.

4. When Apollo 11's lunar lander, the Eagle, separated from the orbiter, the cabin wasn't fully depressurized, resulting in a burst of gas equivalent to popping a champagne cork. It threw the module's landing four miles off-target.

5. Pilot Neil Armstrong nearly ran out of fuel landing the Eagle, and many at mission control worried he might crash. Apollo engineer Milton Silveira, however, was relieved: His tests had shown that there was a small chance the exhaust could shoot back into the rocket as it landed and ignite the remaining propellant.

6. The "one small step for man" wasn't actually that small. Armstrong set the ship down so gently that its shock absorbers didn't compress. He had to hop 3.5 feet from the Eagle's ladder to the surface.

7. When Buzz Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface, he had to make sure not to lock the Eagle's door because there was no outer handle.

8. The toughest moonwalk task? Planting the flag. NASA's studies suggested that the lunar soil was soft, but Armstrong and Aldrin found the surface to be a thin wisp of dust over hard rock. They managed to drive the flagpole a few inches into the ground and film it for broadcast, and then took care not to accidentally knock it over.

9. The flag was made by Sears, but NASA refused to acknowledge this because they didn't want "another Tang."

10. The inner bladder of the space suits—the airtight liner that keeps the astronaut's body under Earth-like pressure—and the ship's computer's ROM chips were handmade by teams of "little old ladies." Craig Nelson uncovered these facts in various NASA archives while researching his new book, Rocket Men

(Viking; $28).

HTTP://AIRANDSPACE.SI.EDU/EXPLORE-AND-LEARN/TOPICS/APOLLO/APOLLO-PROGRAM/LANDING- MISSIONS/APOLLO11-LANDING-SITE.CFM APOLLO 11 LANDING SITE

Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility) 00.67408° N latitude, 23.47297° E longitude For the first lunar landing, Mare Tranquilitatis was the site chosen because it is a relatively smooth and level area. It does, however, have a high density of craters and in the last seconds before landing, the LM had to be manually piloted by Neil Armstrong to avoid a sharp-rimmed ray crater measuring some 180 meters across and 30 meters deep known as West. The LM landed safely some 6 km from the originally intended landing site. APOLLO 11 Facts Lunar Module: Eagle Command and Service Columbia Module:

Crew: Neil Armstrong ,commander Michael Collins, command module pilot Edwin Aldrin, lunar module pilott

Launch: July 16, 1969 13:32:00 UT (09:32 a.m. EDT) Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A Landing Site: Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility) 0.67 N, 23.47 E

Landed on Moon: July 20, 1969 20:17:40 UT (4:17:40 p.m. EDT)

First step: 02:56:15 UT July 21, 1969 (10:56:15 p.m. EDT July 20, 1969) EVA Duration: 2 hours, 31 minutes Lunar Surface Traversed: ~250 meters Moon Rocks Returned: 21.7 kilograms

LM Departed July 21, 1969 Moon: 17:54:01 UT (1:54:01 p.m. EDT) Time on Lunar Surface: 21 hours, 38 minutes, 21 seconds Returned to Earth: July 24, 1969 16:50:35 UT (12:50:35 p.m. EDT) Mission Duration: 195 hr. 18 min. 35 sec. Retrieval site: Pacific Ocean 13° 19'N latitude and 169° 9'W longitude Retrieval ship: U.S.S. Hornet Special Payload: • Plaque (commemorates first manned landing) • Carried to Moon and returned two large American

flags, flags of the 50 states, District of Columbia and U.S. Territories, flags of other nations and that of the United Nations.

• MEPS (Modularized Equipment Stowage Assembly) containing TV camera to record first steps on Moon and EASEP (Early Apollo Science Equipment Package). Highlights/Notes: • First men on the Moon, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. First return of samples from another planetary body.

• The prime mission objective of Apollo 11 is stated simply: "Perform a manned lunar landing and return". • First return of samples from another planetary body. These first samples were basalts, dark-

colored igneous rocks, and they were about 3.7 billion years old. • Plaque affixed to the leg of the lunar landing vehicle signed by President Nixon, Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. The plaque bears a map of the Earth and this inscription: • HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON JULY 1969 A.D. WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND