Apollo 1, Apollo 7, Apollo8, Apollo 9, Apollo 10. This is Apollo 11: The culmination of all that has happened. It was the mission to send men safely to the moon. Everything was in place. Everything was prepared at the USA’s Cape Kennedy on exactly the 16th of Juli 1969, 11:32 GMT+10. The astronauts were prepared. We had spent months training and preparation to get here. This was the greatest space mission in history. It would be the first time humans had ever landed on an extraterrestrial planet. I will be part of this. I was going on Apollo 11, the most important stage in space exploration. And I will be among the first humans to go to the Moon, even though it may not be my last.
This was America’s most ambitious space exploration mission, and many believed it impossible. The crew was Commander Neil Armstrong (Buzz Aldrin Jr.), Micheal Cole, and Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr. Although communication with Earth was not easy, it was possible to send signals in a matter of seconds. The PLSS survival backpack we had would have radios to allow us to communicate directly with Earth. This mission would last around 8 days. Many people were already skeptical of the mission and began to protest. Although docking was possible with Mercury 8, it required precise precision. It was my job. It was going to happen at speeds greater than other aircraft, in zero gravity. One mistake. One angle difference. Crew members could lose their lives. It was worth it. We got out of the command module and turned the lunar module about. The ship with which we were to dock came to a halt. I had complete control over the ship. I moved slowly and carefully until it touched down. We docked the spaceship and were ready to speed towards the moon.
On the third day. After we had reached lunar orbit, it was now time to unlock the lunar module so that Aldrin and Armstong could continue their journey. And then, BANG! It had come into contact with something. The object was not large, but it kept hitting us with more. We are being bombarded with small pieces of space rock at high speeds, which is dangerous. We needed to get rid of it quickly. The docking and undocking process was my most challenging job. I slowly took out the lunar module Armstrong was in with Aldrin. They separated and continued their journey to the moon. The ship was spinning rapidly, but luckily their training was good and I managed to control the ship and waited for their safe return. The mission would be successful, I was certain. I had total faith in Aldrin and Commander Aldrin. They would carry out the greatest human space mission, not mine. I didn’t care that I wasn’t the one who would be remembered in history or made famous. They trained hard and were the best. It was the simple fact of being a part in something greater than me that satisfied me.
The fuel was limited for the two astronauts to reach the moon. They also had to be able to return to the command center. They took the plane to its intended landing spot. They found that the plane was not on a flat ground. Buzz reached for the Abort button immediately. However, the commander was calm despite the fact that they only had enough fuel to make it through the night. Fuel tank is rapidly depleting, going from 10 to 1. Although it was an urgent landing, the Lunar modules finally landed on lunar surface. “The Eagle has successfully landed,” and these words will be forever etched in the history books. “One small leap for man, one great leap for humanity.”
Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong collected 21.8 kg of lunar debris and rock, and traveled a distance of approximately 1-2 km to deploy experiments. These instruments measured the soil mechanics on the lunar surface. This mission demonstrated that humans can explore the Moon, as well as other planets. It also provided important lessons for future spacesuit design. After making further discoveries and research, they returned in the command module to dock the lunar module with me. We set sail for home, the blue planet that we had never expected to see. We entered Earth’s atmosphere on July 24, 1969 and landed at the pacific. Our mission’s success sent ripples across the globe. We had won space, we had won over people, but we also made history that very day. We laid the foundation for the future. We overcame all impossibilities and doubts. We discovered so many things about the moon’s rocks and craters. All the materials were collected and handed to NASA. We succeeded in every area. The mission confirmed that the Moon formed hot. It was also magnetically active for at the least 800 million year. We were also able to see evidence from the Moon’s formation in the dusty rubble. The instruments also showed us that the Moon had a crust and core that is identical to that of the earth.
It was amazing to think we could make so many technological breakthroughs in so little time. In the beginning, communication was very difficult from just a few blocks away. And now we’re back on the moon! THE LUNAR SURFACE! The commanding module and rocket splitting in the spacecraft was a brilliant engineering feat, and the current rocket designs still mostly follow this model. It was extremely difficult to top, and likely won’t be changing for a while. Today was a landmark in history and will be remembered forever.
