As expected, Apollo 8's journey across the Atlantic Ocean took only minutes. The crew were the first astronauts to be launched into space by the Saturn V rocket. After settling into orbit around Earth, they performed their final checks and received the "go" from NASA for trans-lunar injection. This meant they were clear to fire their engines and aim for the moon. Just 18 hours after launch, Apollo 8 experienced a major problem: Borman fell ill and struggled through vomiting and diarrhea.
The commander felt better after getting some sleep, but as a precaution, the other crewmembers radioed to Earth on a private channel and explained Borman's predicament. NASA performed a private medical consultation for Borman.
When hearing that Borman's health had improved, NASA cautiously gave the approval to continue with the mission. Placing the Apollo spacecraft in lunar orbit was not easy. Compounding the difficulty, the engine firing, which would put the spacecraft in the right spot, had to happen while the spacecraft was out of contact with Earth, on the far side of the moon.
But the crew remained focused, and Apollo 8 made it into lunar orbit right on schedule. On Christmas Eve, the crew had the chance to share their impressions with others via a public broadcast. Borman called the moon a "vast, lonely, forbidding type of existence," while Lovell paid tribute to the Earth's "grand ovation to the vastness of space.
All that remained was the return trip home. Mission controllers waited anxiously Christmas morning as the crew turned their engine on again, on the far side of the moon. As they re-emerged, Lovell called out, "Please be informed, there is a Santa Claus," signaling that the ship was headed back to Earth. The crew landed successfully on Dec. After just Altogether, Apollo 11 spent 2.
The crew returned safely to Earth on July 24, landing in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Hawaii, after a flight of 8 days and 3 hours. Although scientists considered it unlikely that the Moon had life on it, the crew was kept in a biological quarantine for 21 days. Post-mission analysis showed that the Apollo 11 samples consisted of two primary rock types. Basalt is formed by the solidification of molten magma. The Apollo 11 basalts formed 3.
Breccias are composed of fragments of other rocks. On the Moon, breccias formed from rocks that are broken up by impacting objects. Astronauts Walter M. Schirra, Donn Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham were the first Apollo crew to go into space. Rather than head toward the moon, the astronauts spent 11 days in Earth orbit testing various components of their command module. Apollo 8 — Dec. Astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders became the first humans to leave low-Earth orbit, heading on a trajectory that took them around the moon and back to our planet.
Their historic flight happened on an accelerated schedule. NASA officials made a last-minute decision to head toward the moon after only a single crewed mission around the Earth in order to quickly demonstrate technological superiority over the Soviet Russians. Apollo 9 — March 3, Astronauts James McDivitt, David Scott and Russell "Rusty" Schweickart remained in Earth orbit during their day mission, testing out procedures to dock their command module with the lunar module that would be critical for landing on the moon.
Apollo 10 — May 18, Their mission involved flying to our natural satellite and bringing the lunar module to within about 50, feet 15, meters of the moon's surface, a mission that served as a dress rehearsal for Apollo Apollo 11 — July 16, Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin E. Armstrong and Aldrin left historic boot-prints that still remain in the lunar regolith. Apollo 12 — Nov. Astronauts Charles "Pete" Conrad, Alan Bean and Richard Gordon survived two lightning strikes during liftoff and reached a different spot on the moon than Apollo 11, touching down in a place called the Ocean of Storms.
Apollo 13 — April 11, Astronauts James Lovell, Fred Haise and John Swigert suffered after an oxygen tank exploded 56 hours into their flight to the moon, crippling the mission. The crew was forced to scramble into the lunar module and use it as a lifeboat, circling the moon without landing and then returning safely to Earth. This was Lovell's second time around the moon, the first being on Apollo 8. Apollo 14 — Jan. Shepard was the first American in space but he and his co-pilots collectively had some of the least flight experience of all the Apollo astronauts, leading them to be lovingly dubbed "the three rookies.
Apollo 15 — July 26, Astronauts David Scott, James Irwin and Alfred Worden were part of the mission that carried the lunar roving vehicle, often known as the moon buggy, for the first time to the moon. Their mission emphasized geological work, and the crew was trained to identify different rocks and formations that would help scientists on Earth piece together the history of our planet and its natural satellite.
Apollo 16 — April 16, Astronauts John Young, Charles M. Duke and Thomas Mattingly landed at the Descartes highlands and searched for volcanic rocks during their mission.
Confounding scientists' expectations, they found few volcanic samples, indicating that the area had not been formed through volcanic action.
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