Episode 65: On the Lunar Surface (The Apollo Program, Part X)

Most of the pictures taken during the Apollo 11 Lunar Extravehicular Activity (EVA) are of Buzz Aldrin, because Neil Armstrong held the camera most of the mission. In this image of Aldrin, Armstrong can be seen reflected in the gold sunshield covering Aldrin's face. Aldrin's arm is lifted like it is because he is reading the to-do checklist sewen into his left gauntlet to help keep him on task. Armstrong also had a to-do list for his portion of the EVA.

Buzz Aldrin exiting the lunar lander, Eagle

Buzz Aldrin saluting the flag

Buzz Aldring removing one of the experiments from Eagle

Buzz Aldrin set up the seismometer experiment about 150 feet (45 meters) from Eagle

Buzz Aldrin took this photo of his footpring in an untouched area for study by soil-mechanics experts back on Earth 

One of the rare photos of Armstrong on the moon conducting maintenance on Eagle

The plaque I mentioned in Episode 63 attached to one of Eagle's descent stage legs that was left behind when the ascent stage returned to lunar orbit

Mission control watching the Apollo 11 EVA

Armstrong was all smiles back in Eagle after the successful two hour and twenty minute EVA

One last glance at the lunar surface before the ascent stage lifts off. You can see the flag (which Aldrin saw fall over just after lift-off) surrounded by astronaut footprints and a white camera mounted on a white pole 

Episode 64: The Eagle Has Landed (The Apollo Program, Part IX)

After weeks of waiting, we've finally made it to the moon landing! After entering lunar orbit, Apollo 11 undocked, with Michael Collins remaining in the command module Columbia and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in the lunar lander Eagle. 

Before attempting the landing, Columbia and Eagle flew in formation so Collins could visually inspect the lander (above) for any damage that may have occured during the translunar voyage or separation.

Of course, while Collins was photographing Eagle in lunar orbit, Armstrong and Collins felt it was only fair to photograph Columbia in lunar orbit (above).

Once everything checked out, the only thing left to do was to try to land Eagle on the lunar surface. Fortunately, Armstrong was more than up to the daunting task.

Episode 63: From the Earth to the Moon (The Apollo Program, Part VIII)

 

The day had finally arrived - July 16, 1969. Once in space it would take the crew of Apollo 11 three days to enter lunar orbit, but it was time to get this group of "amiable strangers" under way. There was a lot that could go wrong in 72 hours, but if all went according to plan, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would attempt to become the first people to land, and hopefully walk, on the moon. While they were working on that, their colleague Michael Collin would have to come to grips with the fact that he may have to leave them behind, even if the attempt to land didn't kill them.

Episode 62: Go for Launch (The Apollo Program, Part VII)

Wernher von Braun is, without a doubt, the reason why the United States was able to land a man on the moon - not just in 1969, but ever. He was also a very complex many with plenty of skeletons in his closet.

So that he could continue working on rockets after earning his doctorat in Berlin in 1939, von Braun applied to join the Nazi Party and was accepted. The above photo is him (in a black suite and a zircular swastika lapel pin) with many of the Nazi soldiers who worked for an with him in the German rocketry program during World War II. 

Heinrich Himmler, Hitler's #2 and the monster in charge of the SS, insisted that von Braun join the SS, which he did. After the war, von Braun surrendered to the Americans and was brought to the United States as part of Operation Paperclip. Hundreds, if not thousands, of German scientists and engineers were brought to the United States and had their records wiped clean in return for working for the US government. The above image is thought to the the only one that shows von Braun (blocked mostly by Himmler) wearing his black SS officer uniform, having been ordered to wear if for Himmler's inspection.

After coming to the United States, he built rockets for the Army, became a US citizen, joined NASA, and popularized the idea of manned space exploration by helping Walt Disney make several Wonderful World of Disney programs about the subject before helping the US launch its first sattelite and building the heavy lift Saturn V rocket for the Apollo Program.

Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun died from kidney cancer on June 16, 1977 in Alexandria, Virginia. He is buried in Arlington's Ivy Hill Cemetery. He is widley seen as the father of space travel and the father of the American lunar program.

 Apollo 11 backup commander, Jim Lovel, came up with the idea of using a bald eagle, the United State's national bird, as the symbol for the mission. The olive branch in the bird's talons is to represent the peaceful nature of the lunar mission. The astronauts decided not to put their names on the patch so it would be representative of everyeone who had worked toward the lunar landing. 

After adopting an eagle as the mission's official symbol, the lunar lander was given Eagle as its call sign.

The command module was named Columbia