The First Steps

Part One · The Trip Out

People have always looked up at the Moon and wondered what it is like. In the summer of 1969, three men finally went there to find out. Their names were Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Their trip was called Apollo 11. It was a trip that millions of people would remember for the rest of their lives.

The trip began on July 16, 1969, in Florida. The ship sat on top of a giant rocket that was taller than a building with thirty-six floors. When the engines lit up, the ground began to shake, and people watching from the beach could feel the roar in their chests. Slowly, the rocket rose into the sky. Soon it was only a bright dot.

The Moon is very far away, about 240,000 miles from Earth. The ship needed about three days to get there, and the men had a lot of time to think. Inside, the men floated, because nothing pulled them down in space. They could drift like balloons. They ate special food, took short naps, and kept a close watch on all of their dials.

The ship had two main parts. One part was named Columbia. It would stay up in space above the Moon while the others went down. The other was a small landing craft named Eagle. It was built to carry two men down to the ground. It looked a little like a big metal bug with four legs. Its walls were as thin as a few sheets of paper, so it was very light.

On July 20, the ship was circling the Moon. Armstrong and Aldrin climbed into Eagle. Collins stayed behind in Columbia, because he would fly around the Moon alone and wait for his friends to come back. Then Eagle floated away and began to sink toward the gray ground. Then Eagle floated away from Columbia and began to sink toward the gray ground below.

The landing was not easy. The Moon is covered with rocks and craters. Armstrong took the controls and flew Eagle past a rocky spot to look for a safe place. At last, Eagle touched down on a flat plain called the Sea of Tranquility. It has no water at all, but long ago people gave it that name.

Part Two · The Moon Walk

Armstrong sent a message to Earth to say that Eagle had landed. In the control room in Texas, people cheered and clapped. Some of them were so happy that they cried. All around the world, people listening to the radio felt proud and glad. The two men were safe on the Moon, and they had just a few hours before the big moment.

Then the men got ready for their walk. They put on thick white suits. Each suit had a backpack that held air to breathe, because the Moon has no air at all. That night in the United States, Armstrong climbed down the ladder on Eagle. He stepped onto the dusty ground and became the first person ever to walk on the Moon.

About six hundred million people watched on television. A camera on Eagle sent the pictures back to Earth. The pictures were gray and a little fuzzy, but people could see a man in a white suit standing on another world. Armstrong said it was one small step for a man, and one giant leap for all people.

Soon Aldrin climbed down to join him. The ground was covered with fine gray dust. It held every boot print neat and sharp. The men found that they could hop around easily, because the Moon pulls on things much less than Earth does. They felt light, and they set up a flag and talked with the President by radio.

The men also did important work. They set up tools to study the Moon. They scooped up rocks and dust to take home, and in all, they brought back about forty-seven pounds of Moon rocks, which scientists are still studying today. The men left a small sign on the Moon, too. It says that they came in peace for all people.

The walk on the Moon lasted about two and a half hours. Then the men climbed back into Eagle to rest. The next day, Eagle lifted off and met up with Columbia, where Collins was waiting. After three days, their small ship splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24. Big parachutes slowed its fall. The trip had lasted about eight days, and the whole world was cheering for the three men.