A 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 espetadores que enchiam estradas, praias e campos em redor do Centro Espacial Kennedy e de milhões de espetadores 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.
in Wikipédia
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.
in Wikipédia
