9
"The Eagle has Landed"
Everyone has heard that saying - It was one of the first things ever said on the Suface of the Moon, by Apollo 11 Mission Commander Neil Armstrong, signifying the sheer sucess of what everyone involved in the program had achieved.
The roots of the Apollo program in 1961, when President of the United States John F. Kennedy made a speech, stating that the USA would put a man on the Moon, and return him safely to Earth, within the next 10 years.
Apollo 11, the first out of a total of six lunar missions (There were more missions in the Apollo Program, but only six were planned to land on the Moon), was launched on July 16th 1969. The Eagle Lander descended to the Moon on July 20th 1969, carrying Neil Armstrong and Edwin 'Buzz' E. Aldrin Jr, the first and second men to walk on the surface of the Moon.
The purpose of this article is to thwart common misconseptions:
1. A 'Space Shuttle' was not used to travel to the Moon, as they were deigned for Low Earth Orbit missions to the International Space Station. Space Shuttles were not produced until long after the close of the Apollo program. The type of Spacecraft used for the Apollo program was a Saturn-V.
2. In order for a spacecraft to travel to the Moon, it is not simply pointed at the Moon with its engines set to maximum thrust. The process is much more complex than that.
Once a spacecraft is in orbit of Earth, it must raise its Apogee (Furthest point away from Earth) to the altitude of the Moon (About 250,000 Miles). To do this, it must accelerate to a such a speed that it will be 'flung out' very far, and only 'pulled back' when it reaches the height of 250,000 Miles. Matching altitude with the Moon in any old position will not do, so this acceleration must be initiated in such a position around the Earth that the spacecraft will rendevous (meet with) the Moon. The last thing that needs to be done to meet up with the Moon perfectly it matching inclinations with it. The Moon has a 5.1 Degree inclination relative to the ecliptic, so the spacecraft must make a manuever at either the ascending or descending node to this, in order to match inclinations with the Moon.
Once the Spacecraft reaches the Moon, it must slow down so that it remains in Lunar orbit, and does not get 'flung away' by the Moon. To do this, it thrusts in the opposite direction from which it is moving (may be a bit too obvious). If a spacecraft was to thrust directly at the Moon, it would end up missing it, as the Moon orbits the Earth at around 1 Km/s.
3. Apollo 11 was not the only ever mission to the Moon. This is a common misconception, as there were five other missions to the Moon following it, the latest one being in 1972. A total of 12 men walked on the surface of the Moon.
4. Even though a man only weight 1/6 of what he does on Earth, when he stands on the Moon, he cannot jump 6 times as high. This is because the height of a jump is based upon how quickly your legs can accelerate your body from the ground, not fully dependant on weight.
5. There is no 'Dark Side of the Moon' - There is merely the side facing Earth and the side that faces away from the Earth. The Moon is tidally locked to the Earth, which means that the same side is always facing the Earth, but this does not mean that the Moon doesn't rotate. The Moon rotates on its axis once every 27.3 days, which is the same as its orbital period (the time it takes to orbit the Earth). Even the side of the Moon that faces away from Earth still can be illuminated by the Sun.
Conspiracy theories about these landings are complete rubbish, as they were some of the most highly doccumented events in history.
I hope that you have learnt something new from reading this article.
Thank you - please leave comments below!
Everyone has heard that saying - It was one of the first things ever said on the Suface of the Moon, by Apollo 11 Mission Commander Neil Armstrong, signifying the sheer sucess of what everyone involved in the program had achieved.
The roots of the Apollo program in 1961, when President of the United States John F. Kennedy made a speech, stating that the USA would put a man on the Moon, and return him safely to Earth, within the next 10 years.
Apollo 11, the first out of a total of six lunar missions (There were more missions in the Apollo Program, but only six were planned to land on the Moon), was launched on July 16th 1969. The Eagle Lander descended to the Moon on July 20th 1969, carrying Neil Armstrong and Edwin 'Buzz' E. Aldrin Jr, the first and second men to walk on the surface of the Moon.
The purpose of this article is to thwart common misconseptions:
1. A 'Space Shuttle' was not used to travel to the Moon, as they were deigned for Low Earth Orbit missions to the International Space Station. Space Shuttles were not produced until long after the close of the Apollo program. The type of Spacecraft used for the Apollo program was a Saturn-V.
2. In order for a spacecraft to travel to the Moon, it is not simply pointed at the Moon with its engines set to maximum thrust. The process is much more complex than that.
Once a spacecraft is in orbit of Earth, it must raise its Apogee (Furthest point away from Earth) to the altitude of the Moon (About 250,000 Miles). To do this, it must accelerate to a such a speed that it will be 'flung out' very far, and only 'pulled back' when it reaches the height of 250,000 Miles. Matching altitude with the Moon in any old position will not do, so this acceleration must be initiated in such a position around the Earth that the spacecraft will rendevous (meet with) the Moon. The last thing that needs to be done to meet up with the Moon perfectly it matching inclinations with it. The Moon has a 5.1 Degree inclination relative to the ecliptic, so the spacecraft must make a manuever at either the ascending or descending node to this, in order to match inclinations with the Moon.
Once the Spacecraft reaches the Moon, it must slow down so that it remains in Lunar orbit, and does not get 'flung away' by the Moon. To do this, it thrusts in the opposite direction from which it is moving (may be a bit too obvious). If a spacecraft was to thrust directly at the Moon, it would end up missing it, as the Moon orbits the Earth at around 1 Km/s.
3. Apollo 11 was not the only ever mission to the Moon. This is a common misconception, as there were five other missions to the Moon following it, the latest one being in 1972. A total of 12 men walked on the surface of the Moon.
4. Even though a man only weight 1/6 of what he does on Earth, when he stands on the Moon, he cannot jump 6 times as high. This is because the height of a jump is based upon how quickly your legs can accelerate your body from the ground, not fully dependant on weight.
5. There is no 'Dark Side of the Moon' - There is merely the side facing Earth and the side that faces away from the Earth. The Moon is tidally locked to the Earth, which means that the same side is always facing the Earth, but this does not mean that the Moon doesn't rotate. The Moon rotates on its axis once every 27.3 days, which is the same as its orbital period (the time it takes to orbit the Earth). Even the side of the Moon that faces away from Earth still can be illuminated by the Sun.
Conspiracy theories about these landings are complete rubbish, as they were some of the most highly doccumented events in history.
I hope that you have learnt something new from reading this article.
Thank you - please leave comments below!
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