Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. salutes the U.S. flag on the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969. NASA's mission to send the first man to the moon 45 years ago set the pace for space discovery throughout the world, providing a new frontier for exploration, technology and innovation.
On July 16, 1969, three astronauts boarded Apollo 11 and blasted off from Cape Kennedy in Florida, en route to a truly breathtaking destination: the Moon. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. became the first men to set foot on the lunar surface, planting a plastic American flag in the sooty dust and collecting rock and soil samples while their colleague, Michael Collins, waited aboard the command ship Columbia, some 60 or so miles above them in space. NASA recently released restored footage of the Apollo 11 Original Mission Video; the following account of the lessons learned from their ground-breaking journey appeared in the Aug. 4, 1969, issue of U.S. News & World Report. The heroes are home – and the full significance of America’s voyage to the surface of the moon is now being carefully assessed. Worldwide, the mission is regarded as a landmark in man’s history, far surpassing all the greatest expeditions of centuries past. When Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon – on July 20 – a new world was opened, with plans being made not only for more lunar exploration, but with eyes fixed on the planet Mars and beyond in search of knowledge of the universe man lives in. The full extent of the adventures that are to follow Apollo 11 will be known only years, if not centuries, from now. A race won. Here on earth, practical evidence was given that the U.S. has emerged, after a decade of self-doubt, as the most technologically and scientifically advanced of all nations. The U.S. won the race to the moon and threw back into the face of the Soviet Union a boast of seven years ago that Russian space achievements would “demonstrate the great advantage of the socialist system.” In the end, it was a society of free men and competitive industry that demonstrated the advantage. Russia’s failure to land its unmanned Luna 15 spaceship safely on the moon on July 22 only served to sharpen the contrast. [DATA MINE: 4 Charts on Apollo 11] Then there was this fact, virtually overriding all else in immediate terms: The United States, at a time of unease and problems, was given a great psychological uplift. The aim of President Nixon, clearly, was to keep the momentum going in dealing with problems both at home and abroad. The rest of the world, with Communist China the only big exception, shared the adventure, viewing it not only as a triumph for the U.S. but as a feat of all mankind. As a French scholar put it: “Americans reached out and touched the moon. But it was a victory for the indomitable spirit of every man.” America’s friends wished this country well. Foes recognized that the U.S. was now standing taller in the world. Scientific significance of the first moon landing was hailed as enormous. At the heart of the Apollo mission were four key experiments. All were undertaken, with the following results: Experiment 1. Greatest success by far was the collection by astronauts of an estimated 60 pounds of rocks and dust from several locations around their Eagle spacecraft. The material was vacuum-packed in metal containers and brought back to earth. Eventually, the precious cargo will be distributed to 542 scientists in nine countries for study. They hope to learn from the samples more about the moon’s origin and whether it has – or ever had – any form of life. These are questions men have been asking for centuries. Experiment 2. A moonquake detector, or seismometer, was set up and left on the moon to measure vibrations in an effort to tell whether the moon is “alive” inside – or simply a cold and dead body. Radio signals back from the 25-pound seismometer on July 22 started a scientific debate. Some thought the seismometer had recorded its first moonquake. Others were not convinced. Said Dr. Gary Latham, a top geophysicist: “Even at this stage, myself and my colleagues are very, very pleased with this experiment. We are receiving data from an extraterrestrial body, which in itself is an accomplishment.” Experiment 3. Also erected and left on the moon was an 18-inch reflector. It was a target for mapmakers and geologists on earth who started aiming laser beams at it in an effort to get a “bounce” and thereby measure the distance between earth and the moon with a precision of six inches, and perhaps also establish whether the earth's continents are slowly drifting apart. Through July 25, scientists had failed with more than 1,000 laser-beam shots to get definite results. Experiment 4. A “solar wind" sampler was set up for more than an hour near the spaceship to collect atomic particles raining in from the sun in a steady solar wind. This aluminum-foil shade was rolled up and brought back for study by scientists who want to know what kind of material the sun keeps pouring into space. What the trip taught. Lessons from the trip were also being studied by officials of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Among them:
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