You Are There… Graphic History Series.
Historical Backdrop
On July 20, 1969, at 4:17 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, a spidery four-legged spacecraft named Eagle touched down on a dusty plain called the Sea of Tranquility. Aboard were Neil Armstrong, 38, a quiet civilian test pilot from Wapakoneta, Ohio, and Air Force Colonel Buzz Aldrin. Orbiting above in the command module Columbia was Michael Collins. The Apollo 11 mission was the culmination of a decade of American effort after President Kennedy promised in 1961 to land a man on the Moon before the decade was out. Armstrong was chosen as mission commander because of his calm under pressure — he had once ejected from the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle less than a second before it crashed, then simply filed his report and returned to his desk. He was married to Janet, with two young sons, Rick and Mark. An engineer at heart, he spoke little, slept lightly, and carried the weight of 600 million television viewers without complaint.
July 20, 1969 — 7:02 a.m. EDT — Command Module Columbia, Lunar Orbit
You wake up in a tin can 60 miles above the Moon, and your boots are waiting. You hear the soft hum of cabin fans and see the cold blue glow of instrument panels. Mike Collins passes you a pouch of reconstituted peaches and a squeeze tube of coffee. Through the small triangular window, the lunar surface slides below — gray, cratered, silent. Buzz is already reviewing the descent checklist. You chew slowly, say little, and feel the weightlessness tug at your stomach. The radio crackles with Houston’s morning greeting. You answer in a flat, even voice.
July 20, 1969 — 9:27 a.m. EDT — Lunar Module Eagle, Docked to Columbia
You squeeze through the tunnel into Eagle, boots first, and the air is colder here, smelling faintly of machine oil and new plastic. Buzz follows. You both begin powering up systems, flipping 100 switches in a choreographed sequence you’ve rehearsed for months. The LM is smaller than a compact car inside. You stand at your station — there are no seats — and strap your feet to the floor. Collins, still in Columbia, jokes through the intercom. You smile briefly but stay focused on the gauges.
July 20, 1969 — 1:46 p.m. EDT — Lunar Module Eagle, Undocking
A sharp clunk echoes through the hull as Eagle separates from Columbia. You watch the command module drift away through the window, Collins waving from inside. “You cats take it easy on the lunar surface,” he says. You reply, “See you later.” Your heart rate climbs slightly — the biomed sensors tell Houston — but your voice stays even. Buzz sets up the Hasselblad. Sunlight knifes through the window, bleaching one side of your face white while the other stays in shadow.
July 20, 1969 — 4:05 p.m. EDT — Powered Descent, 7,500 Feet Above the Moon
