Science

NASA Moon landing: Scientist admits 'SCARY MOMENTS' which threatened Apollo 11 mission


astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin achieved the impossible on July 20, 1969, when they landed on the Moon. NASA’s Apollo program was the culmination of human spaceflight previously pioneered by the US during Project Mercury and Project Gemini. And though the US failed to beat the Soviet Union in being the first nation to put astronauts into orbit, Apollo 11 was the first successful mission to land on the Moon. But, the Apollo Moon landing was not free of troubles and NASA insiders have revealed over the years just how close NASA came to aborting the mission.

Ahead of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Moon landing, NASA scientist Rod Pyle shed some light on the behind-the-scenes dangers of Apollo 11.

Speaking to Coast to Coast AM radio, Professor Pyle said one of the tensest moments came during lunar descent.

Apollo 11’s Eagle Lunar Module (LM) encountered a raft of computer errors, descended too fast and was thrown of-course towards a dangerous field of boulders.

With only about 30 seconds worth of fuel left, Commander Armstrong had to navigate the LM to a more suitable landing spot or eject back into lunar orbit.

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NASA Moon landing: Apollo 11 mission in space

NASA Moon landing: Apollo 11 experience many ‘scary moments’ behind the scenes (Image: NASA)

Professor Pyle said: “There was a bunch of scary moments that we didn’t know at the time of course.

“I was 12, so I was following along with National Geographic and my Life magazine and the checklist there, but there was a lot of stuff that wasn’t clear if you didn’t know the specifics of the calls.

“And even if you were watching CBS News with Wally Schirra there and Walter Cronkite there, if you remember, Walter was asking, ‘Wally what’s this computer alarm thing? Ahh, I’m not really sure.’

“So there’s a lot of stuff that came out later that was worrisome.”

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Despite the seemingly critical situation astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin found themselves in, the two NASA pilots safely touched down in the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility region.

Commander Armstrong famously buzzed NASA back on Earth, saying: “Houston, Tranquility Base here – the Eagle has landed.”

Six hours after landing, Commander Armstrong stepped onto the Moon, uttering his now monumental words: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

But the troubles did not end there because the two astronauts came close to being stranded on the Moon due to a broken engine arming switch.

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The solution? Aldrin engaged the circuit breaker by shoving a pen into the broken switch.

There was a bunch of scary moments that we didn’t know at the time

Rod Pyle, NASA

Professor Pyle said: “What happened was, they were getting out of the lunar module for their moonwalk.

“Neil Armstrong’s backpack just snagged up against this plastic switch and I guess nobody though, you know, these switches are sticking out a little bit and might become targets.

“They were in a vacuum, so they didn’t hear it snap off, they didn’t notice until they got back in the LM a couple of hours later – the switch stub is down on the floor, ‘What the hell is this?’

NASA Moon landing: Apollo 11 astronauts

Apollo 11 astronauts: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin (Image: NASA)

NASA Moon landing: Apollo 11 Lunar Module on Moon

NASA Moon landing: The Eagle Lunar Module malfunctioned on descent to the Moon (Image: NASA)

“Of course, the one they had to break was the arming switch for the engine, as you said, so they told Mission Control this while they were resting and getting ready to come home.

“Mission Control was scrambling to figure out a workaround and when it was time to trip the switch, Buzz looked at it and took a felt tip pen out of his pocket and said, ‘Watch this’.”

Apollo 11 and its three crew members returned to Earth on July 24, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, about 950 miles (1,527km) southwest of Honolulu.

Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins were all awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Richard Nixon.



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