Find out about Apollo 11 mission to the Moon’s most valuable tool in this article. Learn which device was most important on the Apollo 11 mission.
Tool Pouch, Command Module
The Apollo 11 toolset container has Velcro-sealed pockets to securely hold the various tools provided, even in weightlessness.
It has Velcro hooks to allow attachment to the Command Module Structure, and it can be folded and stored in a spacecraft locker during launch and reentry.
Tools involve different wrenches, screws, and other handles and drivers.
The picture above is the NASA set. It was used during the Apollo 11 mission and can be found in the Smithsonian.
Materials: Forged steel, Beta cloth, and velcro closures. Dimensions: 3-D: 68 × 32 × 3cm (26 3/4 × 12 5/8 × 1 3/16 in.)
The astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on Apollo 11 carried different tools to make minor repairs to their spacecraft. You can find some of these tools in the picture below.
Apollo 11 Medical Accessories kit
The Apollo 11 medical accessory kit was stowed in the Command Module in a section on the right side wall beside the lunar module pilot couch.
The bag has three component layers with medical supplies and small medical equipment.
It contains pain suppression injectors, motion sickness injectors, and a two-ounce bottle of first aid cream.
One-ounce bottles of eye drops, compress bandages, nasal sprays, adhesive bandages, an oral thermometer, and spare crew biomedical harnesses.
Pills in the medical satchel include antibiotics, stimulants, nausea, pain killer, decongestant, aspirin, and sleeping pills.
Manufacturer: B. Welson & Co. Dimensions: (22.9cm × 17.8cm × 15.2cm, 1.4kg) 3-D: 9 × 7 × 6 in., 3lb.
Materials Bag: Beta Cloth, Velcro, Mylar Insulation Contents: Bandages, Tablets, Thermometer, Eye Drops, Etc.
Apollo 11 Penlight
The little brass flashlight in the picture below was part of the equipment assigned to Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11, for use in the Lunar Module during the mission to the Moon in 1969.
Materials: Copper Alloy, Velcro, Glass, Plastic, Lightbulb, Paint. Dimensions:(5 1/8 x 1 1/16 in.) 3-D: 13 x 2.7cm
Manufacturer: ACR Electronics Corporation.
Apollo 11 EMU Maintenance Kit
The Apollo 11 beta cloth pouch contains a spacesuit repair kit. It includes the essential supplies to perform minor emergency repairs to the pressure bladder in the case of a puncture.
The contents comprise repair patches, cleaning pads, o-rings, towels, lubricant, and instructions.
The bag was part of the Command Module equipment and was flown on Apollo 11 in July 1969.
Manufacturer: ILC Industries Inc. Materials – Case: Beta cloth, Velcro. Contents -Rubber, plastic, glue, and nylon. Dimensions: Other: 1 in. tall x 6 in. long x 6 in. wide (2.5 x 15.2 x 15.2cm).
Apollo 11 EMU Maintenance Kit
The Apollo 11 kit was part of the equipment distributed to the Apollo astronauts for use if minor repairs to the spacesuit became required.
The kit contains cloth tape, bladder sealant material, exterior patches, extra gaskets, etc.
Kits such as this carried all spacecraft and lunar modules aboard during the Apollo and Skylab missions.
This kit was flown aboard the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.
Manufacturer: ILC Industries Inc. Materials: Beta Cloth, Velcro, Teflon, Paper, Stainless Steel, Synthetic Fabric, Rubber.
InkContainer – beta cloth, polyester, plastic, VelcroContainer contents – plastic, rubber. Dimensions: 3-D (Open): 33 × 35.6 × 3.8cm (13 × 14 × 1 1/2 in.)
Apollo 11 Most Important Tool
Apollo 11 mission to the Moon could have ended in tragedy.
If it weren’t for a tiny felt-tipped pen and the innovative thinking of Buzz, the outcome of the mission to the Moon with Apollo 11 could have ended in disaster.
On 1969 July 20. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had gathered lunar rock samples for almost three hours.
Closeup of scoop and hammer in MESA. Credit NASA.
When both astronauts were climbing back into the Lunar Module (LM) in preparing to return home, Buzz Aldrin hit the circuit breaker switch with the life support backpack on his suit.
The switch (ENG ARM) initiates the spacecraft’s ascent engine to lift them off the Moon.
NASA purchased several of these pens from the Duro Pen Company for use by astronauts during the Apollo and Skylab program.
So they could meet up with Michael Collins, who was in the Columbia command module circling above.
“He could have picked something that was not very important,” Neil Armstrong said. “But he banged into the circuit breaker controlling the SM engine that got us back into orbit.”
“We’ve got a good complete circuit,'” Buzz Aldrin said
The astronauts informed Mission Control by radio, but they had already disposed of most of their tools aboard to make the module lighter.
Using what they had left, a pen, Buzz Aldrin activated the inside switch to engage the circuit breaker and started the engine.
“So, I pushed that in. Houston says, Oh, we’ve got a good complete circuit,'” Buzz Aldrin said.
So the most valuable tool on Apollo 11 seems to be the small pen that brought the astronauts, Neil and Buzz, off from the Moons surface.
Well, that’s it! I hope you enjoyed this article.