It was the Apollo 11 mission with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.
The first was a fighter pilot and a test pilot. The second was a pilot with a dissertation on the connection of spacecraft in orbit and the third was a test pilot.
The mission began on July 16, 1969 when the spacecraft was launched from the Kennedy Space Center. On the 20th of the month the first two astronauts landed with the lunar Eagle on the Moon. The third remained on the Columbia spacecraft and was launched into orbit around the Earth satellite.
But before heading to the Moon, there was a technical problem on their boat. It was then that 27-year-old engineer Steve Bales who checked the problem from Earth and gave the green light to continue. He was honored with the same medal as the three astronauts.
The two of them stayed on the surface of the Moon for 21.5 hours. But they were only 2 hours and 15 minutes outside their capsule. They collected 21.5 kilos of lunar material and took photos. Armstrong was the first to get off the boat and as soon as he did he said ‘a small step for a man, a huge leap for humanity’.
The mission ended on the 24th of the month when the astronauts fell with their capsule into the Pacific Ocean. Then the capsule and their uniforms were disinfected for possible transfer of unknown germs from the moon. They were quarantined for three weeks for medical examinations.
This mission was a goal set by then US President John Kennedy in 1961.
The return capsule is housed in the National Aeronautics and Space Museum. The lunar eclipse was broadcast live on television around the world.
[Source: el.wikipedia.org]
