This short article will give you some fast, quick facts about Apollo 11 moon mission. Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin were the three astronauts who made history in 1969 when they landed on the moon, achieving President Kennedy’s intention to land a man on the Moon and return him safely back to Earth.
Let’s find some rare, interesting facts about this mission and its gear—everything from colors to toilettes.
Quick Facts
What Color Did The Command and Service Module Have?
The command and service module (CSM) was one of the Apollo spacecraft’s significant components, used for the Apollo program between 1969 and 1972. An accurate CM on the pad has the white boost protective cover (and LES). At the launch escape system jettison, it is covered with silver mylar. After reentry, many of the mylar strips come off, leaving the remaining mylar a gold tint.
How Much Food Rations?
Food rations were 2,800 calories per day. Dishes included sausage patties, butterscotch pudding, and chicken stew. Each man took 15 cups of coffee (freeze-dried). Armstrong’s had milk, Aldrin’s was black, and Collin‘s had sugar.
Toilets Onboard
Outside of the spacecraft, the astronauts were attached to one end of a tube, which flowed into a bag that could be emptied later. Inside, urine could be collected in a pouch attached to a hose that vented out into the vacuum of space at the turn of a valve.
They had to defecate into a bag that contained a liquid that would kill bacteria.
How Much Did The Space Suit Cost on Apollo 11?
They wore specialized suits that cost over 100,000 USD, each equivalent to USD 700,000 today. The suits came with an emergency oxygen reserve and a water tank weighing 180 pounds. They were made from 25 layers of protective materials.
High-skilled sewists made the spacesuits worn by the astronauts at the International Latex Corporation. It was from the same company that made the Playtex bra.
Each astronaut’s underwear covered his whole body. It was made from nylon Spandex and an inner lining of chiffon. It had hundreds of tubing feet running around it, circulating cold water to stop the men from overheating.
The Apollo Space Suit Model A7L weighed about 81 kilograms or 180 pounds. The suits protected astronauts against small debris and temperatures ranging from -150C to +120C.
The Primary Life Support System had an emergency oxygen reserve, a radio, a water tank for the cooling system, a water pump, a primary oxygen tank, and a lithium hydroxide filter that separated carbon dioxide from oxygen.
Who Were The Crew of Apollo 11?
Neil Armstrong – Mission Commander Age 38
During earlier missions, he piloted Gemini 8. It was the first time two vehicles docked in space. He had to eject from a Lunar Module prototype during training, avoiding death by seconds. On Apollo 11, he took pieces of the propeller and fabric from the Wright brothers’ plane in the first-ever powered flight (1903).
Michael Collins – Command Module Pilot Age 38
He piloted Gemini 10 and was the first person to have performed more than one spacewalk. Collins designed the Apollo 11 badge, combining an eagle as a symbol of the US and an olive branch to denote humankind coming to the moon in peace. Michael circled the moon on his own during Armstrong and Aldrin’s moonwalk.
Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jnr. – Lunar Module Pilot Age 39
He piloted Gemini 12, where he performed a 140-minute spacewalk to demonstrate an astronaut could work outside a spacecraft. His baby sister pronounced “brother” as “buzzer,” so he became known as “Buzz.” His mother’s maiden name was Moon. He took communion with wine and bread brought from his church.
Saturn V
It was 363 feet tall, the equivalent of a 36-story building. With its fuel tank full for lift-off, the Saturn V weighed 2,800 tonnes, equal to 400 elephants. The rocket that took Apollo 11 to the moon was designed by a team led by Wernher Von Braun—a German engineer who had designed the V-2 rocket.
- Stage 1: Contained five engines that produced nearly 7,7 million pounds of thrust to ensure the rocket escaped the earth’s gravity. It separated after 2,5 minutes.
- Stage 2: It also contained five engines, which increased speed to 15,500 mph, reaching a height of 115 miles before being discarded.
- Stage 3: Contained one engine capable of increasing speed to 25,000 mph, enough to escape the earth’s orbit.
Moon Rocks From Apollo 11 Mission
Amongst the mission’s many firsts was retrieving and returning the first samples from another celestial body. Armstrong and Aldrin brought back 48,5lb of the material, including 50 rocks, lunar soil samples, and material from up to five inches below the surface.
The results based on the 47 pounds (21.5 kilograms) of lunar rock and soil revised the textbooks on both the solar and the Moon. And the samples are still being examined today by researchers utilizing new and more sensitive devices.
Two types of Moonrocks
There were no signs of water or living organisms. The two types of rocks were:
- Basalts made of solidified molten lava aged up to four billion years old. They had a higher percentage of titanium than those found in basalt on Earth.
- Breccias are made of mixtures of crushed and molten rocks due to impacts by meteorites that crash into the lunar surface.
Apollo 11 Back to Earth
The picture above shows the Apollo 11 crew awaiting pickup by a helicopter from USS Hornet, the prime recovery ship for the historic lunar landing mission.
The fourth man in the life raft is a United States Navy underwater demolition team swimmer. All four men are wearing biological isolation garments. (NASA photo)
The crew splashes down off Hawaii on July 24. Kennedy’s challenge has been met. Men from Earth have walked on the moon and returned safely home.
Over the next three and a half years, 10 astronauts will follow in their footsteps.
Gene Cernan, commander of the last Apollo mission, leaves the lunar surface with these words: “We leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.”
Check out this article that reveals the inside of the Apollo Saturn V rocket and its significant components. See for yourself these fantastic drawings. You will be amazed.