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Before Artemis came Apollo: How NASA took its baby steps to the Moon

Much before NASA's Artemis program came the Apollo program, which is the first, and so far, last program to put a human on the Moon. Here is a brief history of the Apollo program and how NASA put man on the Moon.

NASA Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the moon in image captured by Neil ArmstrongBuzz Aldrin walking on the surface of the Moon. Neil Armstrong, who took the image, can be seen in the reflection on Aldrin's helmet. (Image credit: NASA)
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Before Artemis came Apollo: How NASA took its baby steps to the Moon
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Time flies. Just last year, NASA took its first few steps on its return to the Moon with the successful completion of the Artemis 1 mission. Next month, the space agency will announce the astronauts who will be going to the Moon and coming back as part of Artemis 2. But before all of that, more than half a century ago, came the Apollo program that took mankind to the Moon for the first time.

In 1962, John F. Kennedy, US President at the time, gave a rousing speech at Rice University, where he famously said, “We choose to go to the Moon… We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” On July 20, 1969, less than seven years later, Neil Armstrong took mankind’s first steps on Earth’s lone natural satellite.

John F Kennedy urging congress to support the Apollo mission. US President John F. Kennedy urging congress to support missions to the Moon. (Image credit: NASA/MSFC)

This was the success of the Apollo program, which was the first, and so far last, program that was able to land humans on the Moon and bring them back safely. Starting in 1961, the Apollo program made a total of 11 spaceflights, according to NASA. Six of them landed humans on the Moon. Four of them tested equipment. And one ended in disaster.

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At its peak, the program employed nearly half a million people and took support from over 20,000 private firms and universities.

Apart from the symbolic act of putting a human on a celestial object we otherwise only get to see and not touch, the Apollo program also helped return a wealth of scientific data and almost 400 kilograms of lunar samples.

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Some of the experiments carried out during the program include those on soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismicity, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields and solar winds.

Here is the brief history of the Apollo program and what happened during each of its spaceflights.

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Apollo 1

On January 27, 1967, much before Kennedy’s famous speech, the Apollo program got off to a disastrous start with one of the worst tragedies in the history of human spaceflight. Apollo 1’s crew of Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee died in a fire at the Apollo Command Module during a preflight test.

They were training for Apollo 1, the first crewed Apollo flight, which was an Earth-orbiting mission that was scheduled to launch the next month. The mission was officially designated Apollo 204 but was commonly referred to as Apollo 1. After the disaster, it was officially named as Apollo 1 in honour of Grissom, White and Chaffee.

Crew of NASA's Apollo 1 mission Apollo 1 crew during training on January 27, 1967: Virgil I (Gus) Grissom, Edward H. White, II, and Roger B. Chaffee. (Image credit: NASA)

Apollo 4

After Apollo 1, there was no Apollo 2 or Apollo 3, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. The next mission in the program was Apollo 4, which was an uncrewed flight that tested three Saturn V rockets. It carried an Apollo Command and Service Module (CSM) into Earth’s orbit.

Apollo 5

Apollo 5 was another unmanned flight which was designed to test the ascent and descent stages, the propulsion systems, and the restart operations, and to evaluate the spacecraft structure among other key spaceflight components.

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Apollo 6

The Apollo 6 mission was the final test flight that ensured that the Saturn V launch vehicle and Apollo spacecraft were fit for manned missions. Due to some issues that happened during the mission, it was declared to be only partially successful.

Apollo 7

Apollo 7 was the first crewed flight of the program. Astronauts Walter Schirra Jr., Doll Eisele and Walter Cunningham went on a 11 day mission where they orbited the Earth. During the mission, they tested the various components of the command module and the spacecraft, ensuring that they work as intended.

Apollo 8

Although it was initially intended to be an Earth-orbital test of the lunar module, NASA made the ambitious decision to send the mission to the Moon on an accelerated schedule.In a way, Apollo 8 was a lot like how the upcoming Artemis 2 mission is planned to happen.

The mission took the astronauts to the lunar orbit and returned them safely. Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders launched on December 21, 1968 and the astronauts spent Christmas in the lunar orbit.

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Apollo 9

Apollo 9 was the third crewed flight of the Apollo program, but it did not venture too far from our planet. Astronauts James McFivitt, David Scott, and Russell Schweickart went on a ten-day mission where they stayed in Earth orbit and simulated manoeuvres which would actually be used during a lunar mission.

Apollo 10

Apollo 10 got incredibly close to the Moon. Intended to serve as a kind of dress rehearsal for a Moon landing, the mission was carried out by astronauts Thomas Stafford, John W. Young. Stafford and Cernan flew as close as 16 kilometres from the Moon’s surface and scouted the landing site for the Apollo 11 mission.

Apollo 11

After years of research, various Apollo flights, and many other related test flights, humans finally landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969 with the the Apollo 11 mission. Neil Armstrong, the mission’s commander, made history as the first human to step on the Moon and uttered the famous sentence, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Buzz Aldrin posing next to the American flag on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Buzz Aldrin posing next to the American flag on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission. (Image credit: NASA)

Apollo 12

Despite being struck by lightning twice during its first minute of flight, the Apollo 12 mission went on to perform the second successful landing on the Moon. Astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., Richard F. Gordon, and Alan L. Bean were part of the mission. They demonstrated a precision landing method that paved the way for future Apollo missions to land in more difficult but scientifically important locations.

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Apollo 13

Apollo 13 took off on April 11, 1970 and was meant to be the third human landing on the Moon. James A Lovell, John L Swigert and Fred W Haise were the astronauts commanding the mission.

On the third day of the mission, when the Apollo 13 spacecraft was around 320,000 kilometres away from the planet, a short circuit led to an explosion in one of its service module’s oxygen tanks. This caused both oxygen tanks to rupture and the oxygen leaked into space. Because of this, the lunar landing was cancelled and the crew used the lunar module as a lifeboat to sustain them for their return trip to the Earth.

Apollo 14

Apollo 14 launched on January 31, 1971 with astronauts Alan Shepard Kr., Stuart Roosa and Edgar D Mitchell. After completing the third human landing on the Moon, Shepard famously smacked two gold balls on the Moon, leaving them there permanently.

Apollo 15

Apollo 15 launched on July 26, 1971 and saw the completion of the fourth successful human landing on the Moon. According to NASA, it was the first “J series” Apollo mission, featuring longer stays on the surface and more extensive science operations than were possible on previous Apollo missions. Astronauts David Scott, Alfred Woden and James Irwin were part of Apollo 15.

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Apollo 16

Apollo 16 launched on April 17, 1972 with astronauts John Young, Thomas Mattingly and Charles Duke. They landed in the Descartes Formation on the Moon, which scientists initially thought was a volcanic formation, based on telescope and orbital imagery. But based on the samples collected from the region, they concluded that it was not a volcanic formation.

Apollo 17

Apollo 17 was the sixth and last Apollo mission to land on the Moon. The Apollo 17 crew consisted of astronauts Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt and Ronald Evans. The lunar module of the Apollo 17 landed on the Moon on December 11, 1972. Cernan and Harrison Schmitt became the last humans to set foot on the Moon, at least for more than 50 years.


 

First uploaded on: 19-03-2023 at 21:45 IST
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