president john f. kennedy on september 12, 1962 at rice

President John F. Kennedy on September 12, 1962

at Rice University

“We choose to go to the Moon, not because it is

easy but because it is hard. Because that goal will

serve to organize and measure the best of our

energies and skills. Because that challenge is

one that we are willing to accept,

one that we are unwilling to postpone,

and one that we intend to win.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sExd3yNG2A

Introduction to the BBC documentary:

13 Minutes to the Moon(Music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg)

NASA’s Apollo and Artemis Missions to the Moon

John W. Delano, Ph.D. (retired)

Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus

Dept. of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences

University at Albany, State Univ. of New York

Albany, NY

johndelano5@gmail.com

Apollo 15 lunar module Apollo 15 volcanic rock

Mosaic from

NASA’s LRO

spacecraft

15 17

11

16

1412

Class #1 (March 22, 2021)

❖ Historical context

❖ Apollo 11 mission

❖ Scientific results

❖ Apollo 12 mission

❖ Scientific results

May 10, 1869 at Promontory Summit, Utah

https://railroad.lindahall.org/essays/brief-history.html

Wright brothers’ first flight: December 14, 1903

https://airandspace.si.edu/multimedia-gallery/si2003-3463640jpg

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev: “We will bury you” (Speech on November 18, 1956 at Polish Embassy in Moscow)

Chronology of notable events

Sputnik-1 (4 October 1957) First artificial satellite

Laika (3 November 1957) First animal in orbit

Explorer-1 (31 January 1958) First USA satellite

NASA created by Congress (1 October 1958)

Luna-3 (4 November 1959) First image of Moon’s farside

Yuri Gagarin (12 April 1961) First human in orbit

Alan Shepard (5 May 1961) First US suborbital flight

Pres. Kennedy’s ‘Moon speeches’ (25 May 1961; 12 Sept.1962)

John Glenn (20 February 1962) First American in orbit

First image of the Moon’s farside by Soviet Luna-3

(4 November 1959)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RaRC6YuYCQ

Rice University on September 12, 1962

Valentina Tereshkova (16 June 1963) First woman in orbit

Luna-9 (31 January 1966) First robotic soft lunar landing

Surveyor I (30 May 1966) First US robotic soft lunar landing

Apollo 1 fire (27 January 1967) Grissom, White, Chaffee

Apollo 8 (21 December 1968) First humans to orbit Moon

Apollo 11 (20 July 1969) First humans to land on Moon

Soviet N-1 Moon rocket failed: 21 Feb. 1969, 3 July 1969,

26 June 1971, 23 November 1972

Soviet Moon program cancelled: May 1974

Chronology of notable events (cont’d)

X

X

X

Saturn V N-1

Soviet N-1 rocket

N-1

Launch of Soviet N-1 rocket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amz6VjJEWKU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amz6VjJEWKU

Failure of Soviet N-1 rocket on 3 July 1969

Apollo 11: Humanity’s first steps on another world

July 20, 1969

John W. Delano, Ph.D.

Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus

johndelano5@gmail.com

Apollo 11 crew

Soviet Luna 15 spacecraft launched on 13 July 1969

Mosaic from

NASA’s LRO

spacecraft

15 17

11

16

1412X

X

X L-24

L-20

L-16

Apollo 11 mission

Liftoff: July 16, 1969; 9:32 a.m. EDT (1332 GMT)

Lunar Orbit Arrival: July 19, 1969, 1:21 p.m. EDT (17:21 GMT)

100.9 kilometers (54.5 nmi) x 122.4 kilometers (66.1 nmi)

Moon Landing: July 20, 4:17 p.m. EDT (2017 GMT)

Liftoff from the Moon: July 21, 1969, 1:54 p.m. EDT (17:54 GMT)

Lunar Orbit Departure: July 22, 1969, 12:55 a.m. EDT (04:55 GMT)

Splashdown: July 24, 1969; 12:50 p.m. EDT (1650 GMT)

Duration of Mission: 8 days, 3 hours, 18 minutes, 35 secondsEVA duration: 2 hours, 31 minutes, 40 seconds

Mass of lunar samples: 21.55 kilograms (47.51 lb)

Distance traveled: 0.55 km (0.34 mi)

Landing site: 00.67408° N, 23.47297° E

Apollo 11 Saturn V rocket rolls out of

Vertical Assembly Building on May 20, 1969

363

feet

Saturn V rocket in Vehicle Assembly Building

Wernher von Braun standing next

to a Saturn V rocket

Apollo 11 crew walking to van for transport

to Launch Complex 39A on July 16, 1969

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmHABUfjYPI

Video of Apollo 11 launch

Launch of Apollo 11 Saturn V on July 16, 1969

Saturn V rocket

Height = 363 feet

Weight = 6.2

million pounds

(3,000 tons)

Staging during launch of Saturn V(First stage jettisoned; second stage ignited)

Altitude: 40 miles

Downrange: 55 miles

Time after liftoff (minutes)

Wei

gh

t (m

illi

ons

of

po

un

ds)

Weight of Saturn V during ascent

Earthrise as viewed from lunar orbit by crew of

Apollo 11 on July 19, 1969