Atomic Systems

Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon, has died aged 82 following problems with blocked coronary arteries.

The astronaut who was the commander of the Apollo 11 spacecraft on the historical event in 1969, has been a figure of historical proportions. He and fellow astronaut Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin will forever be associated with man's never-ending quest to explore the worlds in outer space.

"It's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind..."

BBC News article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19381098

R.I.P to such a historical figure.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCt1BwWE2gA

Truly the "First of The Few".

Having grown up with the Apollo program, I am genuinely saddened to hear of Neil's death.
This was a modest man whom you could admire for his achievement who chose not to profit from his unique place in history.
RIP

Steve

Apparently, Buzz Aldrin was originally chosen to be the first man on the moon (to observe the naval tradition that the commander (Armstrong) is always the last one to leave his ship). However, it was considered that Aldrin was too flamboyant so NASA changed their minds and decided that the much quieter and modest Armstrong should be the man. In addition, because of their seating positions in the lunar module, it was easier for Armstrong to get out first!
Whatever the reason, I don't think they got it wrong. RIP Neil Armstrong.

Regards,

Len

One unexplained observation has always puzzled me about the lunar landing. As the LEM was decending under rocket power, there were no huge clouds of billowing luna dust observed prior to and on touchdown. Photos taken later of the LEM show no sign of disturbed dust underneath it, such as you'd expect when the lunar surface had been blasted by a the powerful rocket motor. We know there was loose surface dust in the immediate vicinity of the LEM, because of Neil Armstrong's famous first footprint showed there was dust. There should have been at least some sign of a mini crater.

Strange, eh?

My Mum was five when Neil was born and she saw him land on the moon. RIP, Neil.

Bazza

RIP indeed. I clearly remember watching the first footsteps on the moon on TV - mind you, it might have helped that we also got the day off school after we'd all been up late watching it.

David

I know, I know, it's an urban myth that Neil Armstrong said, "Good luck, Mr Mirsky" under his breath after he'd done the "One small step..." bit.

CaptainBazza wrote:.... As the LEM was decending under rocket power...

Wasn't it descending under moon gravity power?

Andy L

Wasn't it descending under moon gravity power?

You mean KERPLONK! power?

Cheers Bazza

CaptainBazza wrote:
Strange, eh?


Bazza

You conspiracy theorists.

Regards,

Len

If anyone wants to watch conspiracy theories, then watch Capricorn One.
There was an interesting film made about Apollo 11. During training, Armstrong did not hit the panic button. It was apparently recorded as a (training) mission failure, but Armstrong kept his cool and was willing to die on the advice of mission control. They failed to provide it....
The landing did not go to plan, but Armstrong guided the ship to a difficult landing. It was not that easy to take off again either.

Nope, it was merely an observation that something was missing.

Cheers Bazzacon

R.I.P Neil Armstrong . I remember looking up at the moon with my daughter and telling her about the moon landings
Also on the day I was born the crew of Apollo 1 died in a launch pad fire so on my birthday I spare a thought to the memory of Gus grissom ,ed white and roger chaffee and as we have seen from the more recent shuttle disasters space flight is far from routine .astronauts were and still are the bravest of the brave

CaptainBazza wrote:Nope, it was merely an observation that something was missing.

Cheers Bazzacon

No it wasn't missing. It is there in the footage available in the open domain. Shortly before landing Aldrin says: "Kicking up some dust". As for not looking like the site had been blasted by a rocket engine, remember the LEM was descending in a vacuum so there was no atmosphere to get blown out of the way and there were contact sticks hanging from the bottom of the LEM pads (hence the call 'contact light') so that the LEM DPS could be switched off before the blast reflecting off the lunar surface damaged the bottom of the descent stage. As a result, the last few feet of the landing actually happened in free fall. Also, there isn't much good footage of what the surface looked like before it got swept by the exhaust though most of the area they landed in was actually breccia (micrometeorite rubble) to a small depth so the blast would have just moved around what was already there making it difficult to see any actual difference.

I thought what was missing was the take off switch, which required the improvision of a good old fashioned prod with a pen.