How many people were there on the moon? Have there been people on the moon? How the Soviet lunar program was implemented

An outside observer looked at the press conference of the Apollo 11 crew with mixed feelings. Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collings and Buzz Aldrin showed no signs of joy, they were gloomy and a little confused. Of course, such an important event as the first landing of man on the moon is more pompous than it gives reason for jokes and smiles. However, the tone of the press conference dedicated to such a grandiose event was painted in gloomy shades.

And if then, in the early 70s of the last century, people could not attach importance to this circumstance, now, after decades, the media are filled with contradictory facts. There is even a lunar conspiracy theory, according to which American astronauts provided false or fabricated data about the landing of their crew on the surface of the Earth's satellite. Since then, people have not given up trying to get to the bottom of the truth and find out what really happened then. Let's try to figure this out too.

Strange facts and discrepancies

The strange relationship between the crew members was the first thing that caught my eye and gave rise to a lot of doubts. How can people who have spent some time in unknown space side by side with each other look so distant? Of course, this cannot serve as evidence of forgery, but it forces us to delve deeper into the study of the situation.

There was a lot of secrecy in the reports provided by NASA; many discrepancies were found in documents, photos and video reports. In the years following the landing, more and more new incriminating information surfaced. It is worth noting that the lunar conspiracy theory itself was not put forward by the Soviet Union; its author was the publicist Bill Kaysing. However, even before the publication of the famous book, the percentage of ordinary Americans who doubted the authenticity of the event was high.

Modern view of the problem

Strange, but since then the Moon has not become a target for mass human flights. To study information on extraterrestrial objects, humans came up with smart satellites and space probes. It is so natural for our minds to reject strange situations that defy logical explanation. What does not fit into the generally accepted framework of knowledge, regardless of culture and science, is most often subject to obstruction. It has always been this way. But now, after years have passed, we have a unique opportunity to look at the problem with fresh, disinterested eyes.

It's no secret that history textbooks are constantly being rewritten. More often under the influence of one or another political regime, less often in accordance with the latest scientific discoveries. Albert Einstein once said, “Judgement without investigation indicates ignorance.” Therefore, we will not ridicule or dismiss an idea without first clarifying the facts.

What did the moon rock turn into?

Here we have the first curious fact that has surfaced in recent years. In 1969, one of the Apollo 11 astronauts presented a piece of moon rock to the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. This unique stone was then donated to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Every year, the gift brought from the moon attracted thousands and thousands of new visitors. It was initially valued by experts at one and a half million dollars. But after several decades, the texture of the stone mysteriously changed. Imagine the surprise of the museum curators when they realized that the moonstone was nothing more than petrified wood.

Call from the Russian government

More recently, the government of the Russian Federation officially called on the international community to investigate certain information regarding the period from 1996 to 1972. According to NASA, it was during this period that American astronauts landed on the Moon. There were several expeditions there. Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin argued that the investigation could shed light on a shadow from the past. Secret information that has been kept for a number of years must be made public.

A Russian official is calling on the international community to find out where the footage from the original footage of the first landing on the moon, filmed in 1969, went. It is also interesting to know where about four hundred kilograms of lunar rocks brought to Earth by several expeditions from 1969 to 1972 disappeared. The Russian side does not claim that there was no landing on the Moon. Based on the facts, a documentary was made about this mysterious disappearance. According to Markov, the lost footage and moon rocks are the property of humanity. The disappearance of cultural artifacts is a common loss for the inhabitants of the Earth.

Intelligence Analyst's Opinion

Bob Dean served at Supreme Allied Commander Europe as an intelligence analyst. According to a former military man, footage from the moon landing was mercilessly destroyed. Therefore, now, even if someone wants to conduct their own independent investigation, it will be impossible. While the United States public continued to press for declassification, the government and NASA officials continued to destroy 40 rolls of precious film from all Apollo missions. Several thousand individual frames were captured there. After looking at them, the authorities for some reason decided that people did not have the right to familiarize themselves with the materials. The reason is banal and simple. According to the government, all this footage is “subversive, socially and politically unacceptable.”

What astronaut Edgar Mitchell will tell you

Bob Dean is just one of many authorities who are furious over the US government's cover-up of the Moon landing. His testimony, without relevant documents, cannot constitute any concrete evidence. However, we must listen to his arguments. It turns out that the retired major, having made a scandalous statement, put his reputation on the line for the sake of truth. Here's what another brave man, Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell, says. He became the sixth person to land on the moon. “I was among the chosen few who were lucky enough not only to fly into space, but also to land on the Moon. On the Earth's satellite we encountered the reality of the UFO phenomenon. For a long time, the information we obtained was hidden by the government. I saw the wreckage of a spacecraft, but I did not see the bodies of aliens. They probably managed to escape. After flying to the moon, I became a different person. Now I know for sure, we are not alone in the universe. Moreover, aliens have been visiting us regularly for a long time.”

They were under surveillance

Maurice Chatelain designed the radio equipment used in the lunar landing (this is one of his twelve patents). The scientist said that at the time when the astronauts landed, they were never left alone, all the time being in the field of view of the UFO. Now it becomes clear why there are so many incomprehensible inconsistencies in photographs taken at that time. Why are the astronauts' shadows twice as large, and why are there massive prints everywhere? Unfortunately, the resolution of photographs of that time left much to be desired. Therefore, modern scientists, even with preserved copies, cannot accurately determine what those mysterious dark spots in the photographs were. Was this due to the poor quality of the photographs, or were aliens really involved?

Could there be artificial buildings there?

John Brandenburg, deputy manager of the Clementine mission, which was part of the joint space project, says: “Our goal was to identify secret bases on the Moon. I looked through many pictures and settled on one. It showed a linear structure a mile long. This object was man-made and should not have been there. However, I can say with confidence that the construction of such a structure cannot be the work of man. This means someone else landed on the Moon.”

Conclusion

If NASA expeditions from 1961 to 1972 really took place, and the data was really destroyed, we have managed to partially lift the veil of secrecy. Now it becomes clear why the press conference of the Apollo 11 crew members was filled with gloomy uncertainty. The astronauts were probably really shocked by what they saw, but they were forbidden to talk about it.

quoted1 > > How many people were on the moon?

How many people were on the moon: The first and last person on the satellite. Read the history of the Apollo mission, Neil Armstrong's flight, the launch of 12 astronauts with photos.

If you ask someone about the lunar astronauts, many will only remember Neil Armstrong and perhaps Buzz Aldrin. What about the rest? And how many people have been on the moon all this time?

In total, Luna hosted 12 guests. Interestingly, each of them made only one attempt. Let's remember these people.

How many people were on the moon

Apollo 11 – two

When determining how many times people have been to the Moon, we must not forget about the pioneers. In 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the lunar surface. Buzz Aldrin followed him out. They managed to find a safe place and make a gentle descent. In total, they spent 21 hours, 36 minutes and 21 seconds on the surface. We spent 2.5 hours exploring the Sea of ​​Tranquility. The astronauts collected samples, planted an American flag, and turned the seismograph to experiment with a reflective device that would clearly determine the distance between them and the Earth.

Apollo 12 – two

Second in 1969 were Pete Conrad and Alan Bean. This crew encountered problems even at the launch because the rocket was struck twice by lightning. But the system was still restored. They landed 185 meters from Surveyor 3 and took samples for analysis. We stayed for 2 days.

Apollo 13 - no one

They were supposed to land on the satellite, but two days after launch the oxygen tank exploded and they had to return to Earth.

Apollo 14 – two

Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell took part in this mission. They launched in 1971 and landed at the point planned for the previous crew. They installed two seismic instruments to study possible earthquakes and used a special mobile cart to collect rock. They tried to get to the Conical Crater, but could not find it. Later pictures showed that they were only two dozen meters away from him. Shepard grabbed a golf club and balls and took a few shots. Now you will know how many people landed on the moon in the Apollo 14 mission.

Apollo 15 – two

In 1971, David Scott and James Irwin landed on the satellite. Spent a total of 3 days. But if the previous crews landed on the plains, they stopped between two mountains. We went out three times and delivered 77 kg of rock.

Apollo 16 – two

John Young and Charles Duke's mission was almost aborted when there was a problem with the main engine. They were the first to land on the lunar highlands and spent 3 days on the surface. The rover traveled a little over 26.7 km.

Apollo 17 – two

The last to visit the satellite were Evgeny Chernan and Harrison Schmitt. They launched on a Saturn V rocket and landed in 1972. We spent 3 days, during which we went to the surface three times, collecting samples and using scientific instruments. Before returning home, Chernan carved his child's initials into the lunar regolith. There are no weather conditions on the satellite, so they should last a long time.

No man has walked on the moon since

So, in total, 12 people walked on the Moon. But there were also those who went there but did not go out. Jim Lovell on Apollo 8 went around and was also on the failed Apollo 13 mission. Chernan and Young took part in Apollo 10, and only later repeated the experience on other missions. Don’t forget how many people have been to the Moon, especially since in the near future our contemporaries will be able to repeat these feats.

In reality, the Americans did not land on the Moon and the entire Apollo program was a hoax, conceived with the aim of creating the image of a great state in the United States. The lecturer showed an American film that debunks the legend of astronauts landing on the Moon. The following contradictions seemed especially convincing.

The American flag on the Moon, where there is no atmosphere, flutters as if it were being blown by air currents.

Look at the photo purportedly taken by the Apollo 11 astronauts. Armstrong and Aldrin are the same height, and the shadow of one of the astronauts is one and a half times longer than the other. They were probably illuminated from above by a spotlight, which is why the shadows turned out to be of different lengths, like those from a street lamp. And by the way, who took this photo? After all, both astronauts are in the frame at once.

There are many other technical inconsistencies: the image in the frame does not twitch, the size of the shadow does not coincide with the position of the Sun, etc. The lecturer argued that historical footage of astronauts walking on the Moon was taken in Hollywood, and the corner light reflectors, which were used to determine the parameters of the false landing party, were simply dropped from automatic probes. In 1969-1972, Americans flew to the Moon 7 times. With the exception of the crash flight of Apollo 13, 6 expeditions were successful. Each time, one astronaut remained in orbit, and two landed on the Moon. Each stage of these flights was recorded literally minute by minute, and detailed documentation and logbooks were preserved. More than 380 kg of lunar rock was brought to Earth, 13 thousand photographs were taken, a seismograph and other instruments were installed on the Moon, equipment, a lunar vehicle and a battery-powered self-propelled gun were tested. Moreover, the astronauts found and delivered to Earth a camera from a probe that visited the Moon two years before man. In the laboratory, this camera was used to discover terrestrial streptococcus bacteria that had survived in outer space. This discovery turned out to be important for understanding the fundamental laws of survival and distribution of living matter in the Universe. In America there is a debate about whether Americans have been to the moon. In principle, nothing surprising, because in Spain, after the return of Columbus, there were also disputes about what new continents he discovered. Such disputes are inevitable until the new land becomes easily accessible to everyone. But only a dozen people have walked on the moon so far. Despite the fact that the USSR did not broadcast live broadcast of Neil Armstrong's first walk on the Moon, our and American scientists collaborated closely in processing the scientific results of the Apollo expeditions. The USSR had a rich photo archive, which was compiled from the results of several flights of the Luna spacecraft, as well as samples of lunar soil. Thus, the Americans had to come to an agreement not only with Hollywood, but also with the USSR, competition with which could become the only argument in favor of the hoax. It should be added that Hollywood at that time had not even heard of computer graphics and simply did not have the technology to fool the whole world. As for the footprint of astronaut Conrad, as they explained to us at the Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where samples of lunar soil are being studied, since the lunar regolith is a very loose rock, the imprint must have remained. There is no air on the Moon, the regolith there does not gather dust and does not fly apart, as on Earth, where it immediately turns into swirling dust underfoot. And the flag behaved as it should. Although there is no and cannot be wind on the Moon, any material (wires, cables, cords) that the astronauts deployed, in low gravity conditions under the influence of an imbalance of forces, wriggled for several seconds and then froze. Finally, the strange static nature of the image is explained by the fact that the astronauts did not hold the camera in their hands, like earthly operators, but mounted it on tripods screwed to their chests. The US lunar program could not be a spectacle also because a very high price was paid for it. One of the Apollo crews died during training on Earth, and the Apollo 13 crew returned to Earth without reaching the Moon. And NASA's financial costs of the Apollo program in the amount of $25 billion were subject to repeated verification by numerous audit commissions. The version that the Americans did not fly to the moon is not a sensation of the first freshness. Now in America an even more exotic legend is growing by leaps and bounds. It turns out (and there is documentary evidence of this) that man did go to the moon. But this was not an American man. And the Soviet one! The USSR sent cosmonauts to the Moon to service its numerous lunar rovers and instruments. But the USSR did not tell the world anything about these expeditions, because they were suicide cosmonauts. They were not destined to return to their Soviet homeland. American astronauts allegedly saw the skeletons of these nameless heroes on the Moon. According to the explanation of specialists from the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where cosmonauts are trained for flight, approximately the same changes will occur with a corpse in a spacesuit on the Moon as with an old can of canned food. There are no decay bacteria on the Moon, and therefore an astronaut cannot turn into a skeleton even if he wants to.

On July 20, 1969, American astronauts were the first in human history to set foot on the surface of the Moon. More precisely, on July 20, Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Edwin Aldrin landed the ship's lunar module in the Sea of ​​Tranquility, and on July 21 they reached the lunar surface. This is what the official version says. However, there are still ongoing debates about whether this version can be considered true. The arguments for and against number in the dozens. Let's look at the main ones.

Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Edwin Aldrin

In the 1960s space exploration was a matter of prestige in the struggle between two superpowers - the USSR and the USA. The Americans launched the Apollo space program, the goal of which was to explore the Moon and demonstrate technological superiority over a rival country. The crew of the first Apollo series ship tragically died during ground tests. But the Apollo 11 flight, according to the official version, was successful: the Americans spent more than 2.5 hours on the lunar surface and collected about 22 kg of lunar rocks. In total, under the Apollo program in the period from 1969 to 1972. There were 6 successful landings on the Moon, as a result of which almost 400 kg of lunar soil were brought to earth.

The crew before departure, July 6, 1969. Neil Armstrong waves his hand

For a long time these facts were not questioned. The famous Soviet cosmonaut G. Grechko has repeatedly expressed firm confidence in the reality of what is happening. Cosmonaut A. Leonov echoed him: “Only absolutely ignorant people can seriously believe that the Americans were not on the Moon,” although he did not deny the possibility of additional filming in the pavilion. It is interesting that in the USSR no one publicly announced the falsifications of the Americans. This version was expressed by the American writer Bill Kaysing in the book “We Have Never Been to the Moon,” published in 1976. This is how the “moon conspiracy” theory arose, which gained more and more supporters every year.

First photo of Neil Armstrong after landing on the moon

The photographs and video materials gave rise to many questions: why are there no stars visible on them, how can a flag flutter in airless space, how could multidirectional shadows arise if there is only one light source on the Moon - the Sun? They tried to explain these discrepancies as follows: the stars were not visible due to weak exposure, the flag did not flutter, but swayed from the touches of the astronauts, and the film simply could have deteriorated.

American astronaut on the moon

Author of the book “Anti-Apollo. USA Moon Scam,” historian Yuri Mukhin is one of the most ardent supporters of the “lunar conspiracy” theory. He draws attention to the fact that the gravitational force of the Moon is 6 times lower than that of the Earth, so all the jumps of the astronauts would have to look different, as well as the speed of falling objects. On the lunar surface, an astronaut could jump higher than his height, but in the video the jumps look as if they were performed in conditions of gravity. The author also has doubts about the possibility of astronauts in their module launching from the Moon and docking with a ship flying in orbit.

Photographing the lunar surface

Edwin Aldrin on the Moon

Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, author of a book about the secrets of lunar exploration, Alexander Popov, is also firmly convinced that the Americans have never been to the Moon. Instead of the Saturn 5 launch vehicle, in his opinion, they created only a model for filming a successful launch. Soil particles from under the wheels of the lunar rover in the video fly off 1-1.5 m, although according to calculations this should be at least 5-6 m. A triangular plume is also noticeable, which is only possible in the air. VGIK teacher of camera skills L. Konovalov claims: both the photo and the video are fake, many facts indicate that the filming took place in the pavilion.

Edwin Aldrin on the Moon

Edwin Aldrin on the Moon

There is another version: the Americans were on the Moon, but did not take pictures, or the film was damaged. And it was necessary to present evidence. Then NASA involved earthly specialists. And the lunar soil could have been obtained not by astronauts, but by unmanned spacecraft, if it really is lunar soil. In any case, the USSR could not help but know the truth. In this regard, there are suggestions that the Union will refuse public disclosure for the sake of political pressure on the United States or economic privileges.

The Lunar Module lifted off from the Moon's surface

MOSCOW, July 20 - RIA Novosti. The famous cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who personally prepared to participate in the Soviet lunar exploration program, denied many years of rumors that American astronauts were not on the Moon, and that the footage broadcast on television around the world was allegedly edited in Hollywood.

He spoke about this in an interview with RIA Novosti on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the first landing in the history of mankind by US astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin on the surface of the Earth's satellite, celebrated on July 20.

So were the Americans or were they not on the moon?

“Only absolutely ignorant people can seriously believe that the Americans were not on the Moon. And, unfortunately, this whole ridiculous epic about footage allegedly fabricated in Hollywood began precisely with the Americans themselves. By the way, the first person who began to disseminate these rumors, he was imprisoned for libel,” Alexey Leonov noted in this regard.

Where did the rumors come from?

“And it all started when, at the celebration of the 80th birthday of the famous American film director Stanley Kubrick, who based his brilliant film “2001 Odyssey” on the book of science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, journalists who met with Kubrick’s wife asked to talk about her husband’s work on the film in Hollywood studios. And she honestly reported that there are only two real lunar modules on Earth - one in a museum, where no filming has ever been carried out, and it is even forbidden to walk with a camera, and the other is located in Hollywood, where, in order to develop the logic of what is happening on the screen, Additional filming of the American landing on the Moon was carried out,” the Soviet cosmonaut specified.

Why was studio additional filming used?

Alexey Leonov explained that in order for the viewer to be able to see on the movie screen the development of what is happening from beginning to end, elements of additional shooting are used in any movie.

“It was impossible, for example, to film Neil Armstrong’s real opening of the hatch of the descent ship on the Moon - there was simply no one to film it from the surface! For the same reason, it was impossible to film Armstrong’s descent to the Moon along the ladder from the ship. These are the moments that were actually filmed Kubrick in Hollywood studios to develop the logic of what was happening, and laid the foundation for numerous gossips that the entire landing was allegedly simulated on the set,” explained Alexey Leonov.

Where truth begins and editing ends

“The real shooting began when Armstrong, who first set foot on the Moon, got used to it a little, installed a highly directional antenna through which he was broadcasting to Earth. His partner Buzz Aldrin then also left the ship on the surface and began filming Armstrong, who in turn filmed its movement on the surface of the Moon,” the astronaut said.

Why did the American flag fly in the airless space of the moon?

“The argument is made that the American flag fluttered on the Moon, but it shouldn’t have. The flag really shouldn’t have fluttered - the fabric was used with a rather rigid reinforced mesh, the panel was twisted into a tube and tucked into a cover. The astronauts took with them a nest, which they first inserted " , - explained the “phenomenon” Alexey Leonov.

“To argue that the entire film was shot on Earth is simply absurd and ridiculous. The USA had all the necessary systems that monitored the very launch of the launch vehicle, acceleration, correction of the flight orbit, flight around the Moon by the descent capsule and its landing,” - concluded the famous Soviet cosmonaut.

What did the “moon race” lead to between two space superpowers?

“My opinion is that this is the best competition in space that humanity has ever carried out. The “moon race” between the USSR and the USA is the achievement of the highest peaks of science and technology,” says Alexey Leonov.

According to him, after Yuri Gagarin's flight, US President Kennedy, speaking in Congress, said that the Americans were simply too late to think about the triumph that could be achieved by launching a man into space, and therefore the Russians triumphantly became the first. Kennedy's message was clear: within ten years, land a man on the moon and return him safely back to Earth.

“This was a very right step by a great politician - he united and rallied the American nation to achieve this goal. Huge funds were also involved at that time - 25 billion dollars, today it is, perhaps, all fifty billion. The program included a flyby of the Moon, then Tom Stafford's flight to the hover point and selection of a landing site on Apollo 10. The departure of Apollo 11 included the direct landing of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon. Michael Collins remained in orbit and waited for the return of his comrades," - said Alexey Leonov.

18 Apollo-type ships were made to prepare for the landing on the Moon - the entire program was implemented perfectly, except for Apollo 13 - from an engineering point of view, nothing special happened there, it simply failed, or rather, one of the fuel elements exploded , the energy weakened, and therefore it was decided not to land on the surface, but to fly around the Moon and return to Earth.

Alexey Leonov noted that only the first flyby of the Moon by Frank Borman, then the landing of Armstrong and Aldrin on the Moon and the story of Apollo 13 remained in the memory of Americans. These achievements united the American nation and made every person empathize, walk with their fingers crossed and pray for their heroes. The last flight of the Apollo series was also extremely interesting: American astronauts no longer just walked on the Moon, but drove on its surface in a special lunar vehicle and took interesting photographs.

In fact, it was the peak of the Cold War, and in this situation, the Americans, after the success of Yuri Gagarin, simply had to win the “moon race.” The USSR then had its own lunar program, and we also implemented it. By 1968, it had already existed for two years, and crews of our cosmonauts were even formed for the flight to the Moon.

On censorship of human achievements

“The American launches as part of the lunar program were broadcast on television, and only two countries in the world - the USSR and communist China - did not broadcast this historical footage to their people. I thought then, and now I think - in vain, we simply robbed our people ", the flight to the Moon is the heritage and achievement of all mankind. The Americans watched Gagarin's launch, Leonov's spacewalk - why couldn't the Soviet people see this?!", laments Alexei Leonov.

According to him, a limited group of Soviet space specialists watched these launches on a closed channel.

“We had military unit 32103 on Komsomolsky Prospekt, which provided space broadcasts, since there was no control center in Korolev at that time. We, unlike all other people in the USSR, saw the landing of Armstrong and Aldrin on the Moon, broadcast by the USA throughout world. The Americans placed a television antenna on the surface of the Moon, and everything they did there was transmitted through a television camera to Earth, and several repetitions of these television broadcasts were also made. When Armstrong stood on the surface of the Moon, and everyone in the USA clapped, we are here in the USSR , Soviet cosmonauts, also crossed their fingers for luck, and sincerely wished the guys success,” recalls the Soviet cosmonaut.

How the Soviet lunar program was implemented

“In 1962, a decree was issued, signed personally by Nikita Khrushchev, on the creation of a spacecraft to fly around the Moon and use a Proton launch vehicle with an upper stage for this launch. In 1964, Khrushchev signed a program for the USSR to fly around the Moon in 1967 , and in 1968 - landing on the Moon and returning to Earth. And in 1966 there was already a decree on the formation of lunar crews - a group was immediately recruited for landing on the Moon," recalled Alexey Leonov.

The first stage of the flight around the Earth's satellite was to be carried out by launching the L-1 lunar module using a Proton launch vehicle, and the second stage - landing and returning back - on a giant and powerful N-1 rocket, equipped with thirty engines with a total thrust of 4.5 thousands of tons, with the rocket itself weighing about 2 thousand tons. However, even after four test launches, this super-heavy rocket never flew normally, so it had to be abandoned in the end.

Korolev and Glushko: the antipathy of two geniuses

“There were other options, for example, using a 600-ton engine developed by the brilliant designer Valentin Glushko, but Sergei Korolev refused it, since it worked on highly toxic heptyl. Although, in my opinion, this was not the reason - just two leaders , Korolev and Glushko - could not and did not want to work together. Their relationship had its own problems of a purely personal nature: Sergei Korolev, for example, knew that Valentin Glushko had once written a denunciation against him, as a result of which he was sentenced to ten years When Korolev was released, he found out about this, but Glushko didn’t know that he knew about it,” said Alexey Leonov.

A small step for a man, but a giant leap for all mankind

On July 20, 1969, NASA's Apollo 11, with a crew of three astronauts: Commander Neil Armstrong, Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Aldrin, and Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, became the first to reach the Moon in the USSR-US space race. The Americans did not pursue research objectives in this expedition; its goal was simple: to land on the Earth’s satellite and return successfully.

The ship consisted of a lunar module and a command module, which remained in orbit during the mission. Thus, of the three astronauts, only two went to the Moon: Armstrong and Aldrin. They had to land on the moon, collect samples of lunar soil, take photographs on the Earth's satellite and install several instruments. However, the main ideological component of the trip was the hoisting of the American flag on the moon and the holding of a video communication session with the Earth.

The launch of the ship was observed by US President Richard Nixon and the scientist-creator of German rocket technology, Hermann Oberth. A total of about a million people watched the launch at the cosmodrome and mounted observation platforms, and the television broadcast, according to the Americans, was watched by more than a billion people all over the world.

Apollo 11 launched toward the moon on July 16, 1969 at 1332 GMT and entered lunar orbit 76 hours later. The command and lunar modules were undocked approximately 100 hours after launch. Despite the fact that NASA intended to land on the lunar surface in automatic mode, Armstrong, as the commander of the expedition, decided to land the lunar module in semi-automatic mode.

The lunar module landed in the Sea of ​​Tranquility on July 20 at 20 hours 17 minutes 42 seconds GMT. Armstrong descended to the surface of the Moon on July 21, 1969 at 02:56:20 GMT. Everyone knows the phrase he said when he set foot on the moon: “That’s one small step for a man, but one giant leap for all mankind.”

15 minutes later Aldrin walked onto the moon. The astronauts collected the required amount of materials, placed instruments and installed a television camera. After that, they placed an American flag in the camera's field of view and conducted a communication session with President Nixon. The astronauts left a memorial plaque on the Moon with the words: “Here people from planet Earth first set foot on the Moon. July 1969 AD. We come in peace on behalf of all Mankind.”

Aldrin spent about an hour and a half on the moon, Armstrong - two hours and ten minutes. At the 125th hour of the mission and the 22nd hour of being on the Moon, the lunar module launched from the surface of the Earth's satellite. The crew splashed down on the blue planet approximately 195 hours after the start of the mission, and soon the astronauts were picked up by an aircraft carrier that arrived in time.