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10 Interesting Facts on the Apollo 11 Space Mission



The year was 1961. In a fateful address to the Congress, President Kennedy proposed, in a time of extreme uncertainty in the United States, bold steps in the exploration of the cosmos.

Kennedy’s speech delivered at the epitome of the Cold War asked the nation of USA to commit itself to achieve the goal of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely before the century was out.

This outrageous challenge to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration by the President of the United States was the foundation to a decade of expedited exploration and unprecedented advances in the fields of space flight, astronomy, rocket science, and aviation.

Apollo 11 was the space flight that first landed humans on the moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin formed the crew that took the first steps on the lunar surface. A Saturn V rocket launched Apollo 11 on 16th July from Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida. It was the fifth crewed mission of NASA’s Apollo program.

On the evening of July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to step on the lunar surface and was followed by Buzz Aldrin.

Apollo 11 space mission was historic in many ways which led to a great deal of discussion in the media prior to its launch and panels continue to discuss this to date. The Apollo 11 space mission marked the accomplishment of Kennedy’s challenge 8 years prior to the launch of the spacecraft as a part of the Apollo 11 Space Mission!

Lets us look at some of the interesting facts on the Apollo 11 space launch, moon landing, and return!

  1. Neil Armstrong’s famous quote “One small step for man, a giant leap for mankind” does not apply literally! The astronaut had to drop about three and a half feet from the foot of the Eagle’s ladder to the lunar surface

  2. About 203,400 gallons of kerosene fuel and 318,000 gallons of liquid oxygen were required to lift the Saturn V rocket 38 miles into the sky

  3. In case of an explosion, Saturn V rocket would have created a fireball in excess of 2,500-degree Fahrenheit

  4. Upon returning to earth, the astronauts on the mission were quarantined for two weeks to prevent contamination from dangerous pathogens

  5. Apollo 11 landed 4 miles away from the intended landing site

  6. Luna 15, the Soviet unmanned spacecraft to the moon, crashed on the lunar surface while the Apollo 11 astronauts were on the moon. The Luna 15 module crashed 430 miles away from the Apollo 11 landing module

  7. Buzz Aldrin’s felt-tip pen helped fix a broken circuit breaker that was essential for Apollo 11’s return to Earth. Buzz Aldrin kept that pen as a memento

  8. The flag mounted by Apollo 11 was knocked down by the takeoff thrust

  9. The Apollo Guidance Computer weighed 70 pounds and yet, was less powerful than today’s smartphones

  10. Pink Floyd jammed ‘Moonhead’ during BBC’s live television broadcast of the lunar landing

Loved the facts? We did too!

Hit us below in the comments section with a fact that you found mind-boggling and do let us know if you would like The Tipsy Marketer to cover a topic of your interest!

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