Apollo XI foi a quinta missão tripulada do
Programa Apollo e a primeira a realizar uma
alunagem, no dia
20 de julho de
1969. Tripulada pelos astronautas
Neil Armstrong,
Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin e
Michael Collins, a missão cumpriu a meta proposta pelo Presidente
John F. Kennedy em
25 de maio de
1961, quando, perante o
Congresso dos Estados Unidos, afirmou que:
 | "Eu
acredito que esta nação deve comprometer-se em alcançar a meta, antes
do final desta década, de pousar um homem na Lua e trazê-lo de volta à
Terra em segurança" | 
- Presidente JFK, 25 de maio de 61
|
Composta pelo
módulo de comando Columbia, o
módulo lunar Eagle e o
módulo de serviço, a Apollo XI, com seus três tripulantes a bordo, foi lançada do
Cabo Canaveral, na
Flórida, às 13.32 UTC de
16 de julho, na ponta de um
foguetão Saturno V, sob o olhar de centenas de milhares de espectadores que enchiam estradas, praias e campos em redor do
Centro Espacial Kennedy e de milhões de espectadores pela
televisão
em todo o mundo, para a histórica missão de oito dias de duração, que
culminou com as duas horas e quarenta e cinco minutos de caminhada de
Armstrong e Aldrin na Lua.
Columbia floats on the ocean as Navy divers assist in retrieving the astronauts
On July 24, the astronauts returned home aboard the Command Module
Columbia just before dawn local time (16:51 UTC) at
13°19′N 169°9′W, in the Pacific Ocean 2,660 km (1,440 nmi) east of
Wake Island, 380 km (210 nmi) south of
Johnston Atoll, and 24 km (13 nmi) from the recovery ship,
USS Hornet.
At 16:44 UTC the
drogue parachutes had been deployed and seven minutes later the Command Module struck the water forcefully. During
splashdown,
the Command Module landed upside down but was righted within 10
minutes by flotation bags triggered by the astronauts. "Everything's
okay. Our checklist is complete. Awaiting swimmers," was Armstrong's
last official transmission from the
Columbia. A diver from the
Navy helicopter hovering above attached a sea anchor to the Command
Module to prevent it from drifting. Additional divers attached
flotation collars to stabilize the module and position rafts for
astronaut extraction. Though the chance of bringing back
pathogens
from the lunar surface was considered remote, it was considered a
possibility and NASA took great precautions at the recovery site. Divers
provided the astronauts with Biological Isolation Garments (BIGs)
which were worn until they reached isolation facilities on board the
Hornet. Additionally astronauts were rubbed down with a
sodium hypochlorite solution and the Command Module wiped with
Betadine to remove any lunar dust that might be present. The raft containing decontamination materials was then intentionally sunk.
The crew of Apollo XI in quarantine after returning to Earth, visited by Richard Nixon
