Google is celebrating 50 years since the Apollo 11 mission by NASA in today's (20th July 2019) Doodle. It was the first time when humans landed on the Moon through this mission. Google Doodle commemorates this grand moment in the history of humankind, science, engineering & spaceflight by taking people through the journey to the Moon & back, described by someone special with actual knowledge about everything that went on during the mission – it is none other than former astronaut & Apollo 11 command module pilot ‘Michael Collins’.
Doodle wants to bring to life facts that were not known about the mission previously by people. Take for example, the team that contributed to Project Apollo from all over the world are nearly 4, 00,000 in number. And the majority of these are construction workers, engineers, scientists etc. It also included the mission’s 3 astronauts – Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin Aldrin.
Collins says that “The first time we saw the Moon up close, it was a wonderful spectacle. It was huge. The sun was coming around it, cascading & making a golden halo & filled in our entire window. As exciting as the view was of this alien Moon seen up close - it was nothing compared to the view of the tiny Earth. The Earth was the main show.”
What is Apollo 11 mission
On 16 July 1969, America launched the Saturn V rocket from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center carrying Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin Aldrin. After orbiting round the Moon, a lunar module “the Eagle” got separated for a 13-minute journey to land on the Moon’s surface. Collins remained in the command module while Aldrin and Armstrong made their way to the surface of Moon.
Aldrin and Armstrong landed on the Moon on a vehicle known as “Sea of Tranquility” on 20 July, 1969. Their journey had many complications as initially they had lost contact with the Earth. They also went through unfamiliar error codes on their onboard computer & ran short of fuel.
On 20 July, 1969 - fifty years ago, Neil Armstrong became the 1st man to step on the Moon. The two also hoisted a plaque on Moon that read - “Here men from the planet Earth 1st set foot upon the Moon, July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind.”
