Astronomy

24 ASTRONOMY • DECEMBER 2018

world watched. After a three-day cruise to the Moon,

the astronauts prepared for their historic landing.

Armstrong piloted the LM as Aldrin navigated.

The two nearly ran out of fuel during their descent,

leaving just enough for the return trip. Aldrin called

out, “Contact light.” Moments later, Armstrong

blurted out, “Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The

Eagle has landed.” On the ground, gripped by sus-

pense, Charlie Duke, acting as a communicator,

replied, “Roger, Twan — Tranquillity, we copy you on

the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn

blue. We’re breathing again. Thanks a lot.”

Some two and a half hours later, Armstrong and

Aldrin prepared for the first-ever moonwalk.

Armstrong descended the LM’s ladder, stepped onto

the Moon’s powdery surface, and said, “That’s one

small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

He and Aldrin planted a U.S. f lag, sampled and

collected Moon rocks, and explored the Sea of

Tranquillity. Their time the lunar surface lasted 49

minutes. Returning to lunar orbit, and then to Earth,

the Apollo 11 crew splashed down in triumph.

Six more missions followed the first Moon land-

ing, all of which made for exciting adventures. Apollo

12, with its crew of Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon, and

Alan Bean, lifted off near the end of 1969. On the

Moon’s surface, Conrad and Bean explored the Ocean

of Storms, an area visited earlier by several unmanned

missions. This second lunar mission allowed the

moonwalkers to explore for nearly eight hours.

To p: T h i s s te r e o

view of the Lunar

Roving Vehicle

was made by

Dave Scott during

the third Apollo

15 moonwalk. It

appears against

the desolate

lunar surface at

the Hadley Rille

landing site, and

faces north. The

western edge of

Mount Hadley is

at upper right.

NASA/JSC

Astronaut

John Young gives

the Lunar Roving

Vehicle a high-

speed workout in

the “Grand Prix”

run during the

third Apollo 16

extravehicular

activity. This view

is a frame from a

motion picture

film exposed by

a 16mm Maurer

camera held by

Charlie Duke.

NASA/JSC