On July 20, 1969, for the first time a man set foot on the moon.
I was at summer camp. The counselors gathered us all in the rec hall in front of a black and white TV. They told us we would remember this forever. I do.
Here was the timeline in Eastern time:
July 20, 1969 – At 1:47 p.m. EDT Armstrong and Aldrin, in the lunar module Eagle, separate from the command module. Collins remains onboard the Columbia orbiting the moon.
– 4:17 p.m. EDT – The Eagle lands.
– 4:18 p.m. EDT – “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed,” Armstrong reports. When the lunar module lands on the moon’s surface at the Sea of Tranquility, it has less than 40 seconds of fuel left.
– 10:56 p.m. EDT – Armstrong says, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” as he becomes the first human to set foot on the moon.
– 11:15 p.m. EDT (approx.) – Buzz Aldrin joins Armstrong on the moon. The men read from a plaque signed by the three crew members and the president, “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”
– 11:48 p.m. EDT – President Nixon speaks to Armstrong and Aldrin via radio from the Oval Office, “(it) certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made.” They speak for two minutes and the call is televised on both ends.
– Armstrong and Aldrin spend over two hours collecting moon rock samples and data, and spend the night on board the Eagle.
My memory is that we were brought in late in the evening, so it must have been for the exit from the capsule and first step on the moon.
Despite all the turmoil in the nation at the time, we were able to accomplish great things.
Maybe we can make America accomplish great things, again?
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