The Apollo 11 mission was launched
from Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969. The crew consisted of Aldrin,
Armstrong, and Michael Collins. After launching with a Saturn V rocket, the
three astronauts undertook the three-day journey to the Moon. Once in orbit,
Armstrong and Aldrin used the Lunar Module to land on the surface of the Moon,
leaving Collins in the Command Module orbiting the Moon. The two astronauts
spent about 21 ½ hours on the surface of the Moon, 2 ½ of which was spent
outside the spacecraft. They collected 47.5 pounds of lunar material before
returning to the Command Module, which carried all three explorers safely back
to Earth.
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| Buzz Aldrin [Photo Credit: www.latimes.com] |
Aldrin
recently held an informal interview on Reddit to commemorate the event. In his interview, Aldrin detailed
his vision for the future of space travel. “OUR resources should be directed to
outward, beyond-the-Moon, to establishing habitation and laboratories on the surface
of Mars that can be built, assembled, from the close-by Moons of Mars,” he
wrote. He sees these future missions to Mars as permanent journeys to be
undertaken by committed, lifelong pioneers. His own pioneering was much
briefer, but took a great deal of courage and commitment.
Calmont provides NASA with custom aerospace wire and cable,
which contributes to the future of space exploration. Will we make it to Mars as
Aldrin predicts? No one can know for sure, but our custom wire will surely be
onboard any spacecraft that undertakes this daring mission.
