Chapter 240: Successful Landing
Collins, as the astronaut who would remain in the command module, felt filled with worry for his companions and expectation for the mission.
He patted their shoulders and said with a smile: “Good luck, guys. I’ll be waiting for you here.”
Collins’s voice was calm, but in his heart he was praying: “Please come back safely.”
On December 20th, the moment of separation arrived.
Aldrin and Armstrong entered the narrow lunar module and closed the hatch.
Collins communicated with them via radio: “‘Eagle’, prepare to separate. Good luck.”
Armstrong responded: “Thank you, Michael. We’ll be back.”
With a soft click, the lunar module separated from the command module and slowly headed toward the lunar surface.
Meanwhile, television stations around the world were conducting tense live broadcasts.
In America, CBS’s Walter Cronkite sat in the studio, excitedly commentating to the audience: “Ladies and gentlemen, the lunar module ‘Eagle’ has separated from the command module and is beginning its descent to the lunar surface. This is an unprecedented feat in human history.”
The television image switched to an animated simulation of the lunar module’s descent, and the audience held their breath, watching intently.
In England, Major Freeman said in a steady tone: “At this moment, the world’s gaze is focused on the Moon.
Aldrin and Armstrong will once again step onto the Moon, proving to the world that Earthlings can step onto the Moon’s soil more than once, and sooner or later we will conquer the Moon just as we conquered the New World!”
The commentator on Japan’s NHK shouted excitedly in Japanese: “This is a milestone for human civilization, and the Japanese people are witnessing this great moment together with the American people.”
Although it was unclear what the logic of the Japanese television station was, they had said it anyway.
In India, the television live broadcast attracted millions of viewers.
Schools were closed, students gathered around televisions, and teachers took the opportunity to explain scientific knowledge about the Moon.
The lunar module “Eagle” began its descent, Armstrong manually controlled it, and Aldrin called out data: “Altitude 50,000 feet, descent speed normal.”
Suddenly, the computer emitted a piercing alarm, and the screen displayed “1202 alarm”.
Armstrong’s heart rate accelerated, but he remained calm: “Cape Canaveral, we have a 1202 alarm.”
In the control room, Lin Ran abruptly stood up, then sat back down moments later: “Computer memory overload, but it can still continue operating.
Command Apollo 11 to continue landing, monitor the alarm.”
Hearing the instruction, Armstrong took a deep breath and chose to unconditionally trust the professor.
He continued controlling the lunar module. He discovered that the automatic navigation was leading them toward an area filled with giant rocks and decisively switched to manual mode.
Sweat slid down his forehead as he said softly: “I need to find a flat spot.”
Aldrin nervously called out: “Fuel remaining 30 seconds!”
In the control room, Lin Ran clenched his fist tightly, and Lyndon Johnson also held his breath.
“Contact light on!” Armstrong shouted.
The lunar module gently touched down, kicking up a cloud of moon dust. “Cape Canaveral, Tranquility Base here. The ‘Eagle’ has landed.”
The control room erupted in thunderous cheers, Lin Ran punched the air fiercely, and President Johnson stood up excitedly, clapping and shouting: “Outstanding! They did it!”
Even knowing in advance that it would definitely succeed, Lin Ran could not hide his inner excitement and thrill, because this was a success under his full participation.
The 60 spacetime went smoothly, meaning the 20 spacetime would also go smoothly.
This was replicating an existing success, Lin Ran thought to himself silently; he wanted to pioneer new successes, whether in the past or in the modern era.
After the news was transmitted to television stations around the world through NASA’s official channels, the stations’ commentators also cheered, and Cronkite said excitedly: “America’s solo moon landing success! Let’s cheer together!”
On the gray-white surface of the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon, the lunar module “Eagle” stood steadily, and inside the cabin, Aldrin and Armstrong were preparing to step onto the lunar land.
On Earth, billions of eyes were fixed on television screens, hearts pounding with anticipation, waiting to witness history.
After all, the last time Gagarin landed on the Moon, humanity’s footsteps appeared on the Moon for the first time in history, but because Soviet technology was inadequate, it couldn’t be live broadcast for the public to see.
In other words, if you add a qualifier in front, the first live broadcast moon landing, then this was indeed the first for Aldrin and Armstrong.
Here’s a detailed explanation of how the live broadcast during the moon landing was achieved.
Without a detailed understanding, it’s hard to figure out why the moment they stepped out of the lunar module was captured—was it a studio moon landing?
Actually, in future years, Chinese people’s doubts about studio moon landings were only online, while Americans’ doubts about studio moon landings, besides online, also existed in reality.
Aldrin even got into a physical conflict with real-life doubters.
Back to the Apollo Program.
The television camera used in the Apollo 11 mission was a black-and-white camera manufactured by Westinghouse, equipped with a 16mm lens, weighing about 7.25 pounds.
This camera was not pre-set on the lunar surface but was pre-installed on the lunar module’s descent stage, specifically in the Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly.
The Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly is a storage area on the lunar module, located in the descent stage’s quadrant four, designed to hold various equipment, including the camera and geological tools.
In layman’s terms, after the lunar module’s legs extended, the camera automatically appeared, with the lens already aimed at the hatch.
The camera was on the landing gear bracket of the lunar module.
(Lunar module design drawing)
After landing, the astronauts needed to activate the Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly to start the camera.
The specific deployment process involved Armstrong pulling a lanyard inside the lunar module to unlock and open the Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly, causing it to unfold like a drawer.
The unfolding of the Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly not only released the camera but also positioned it at a predetermined angle, facing the ladder.
(Lunar camera, mounted on the side of the lunar module, ensuring it could accurately capture the moment the astronaut stepped onto the Moon)
This action ensured the camera could directly film the astronauts descending the ladder.
Then, Aldrin closed a circuit breaker to activate the camera’s transmission function.
This step was crucial because it connected the camera to the lunar module’s communication system, beginning to transmit the video signal back to Earth via radio.
Due to safety considerations during transport, the initial image might appear upside down, but the ground control center would quickly adjust it to ensure the audience saw the correct image.
The live broadcast signal transmission relied on the lightweight antenna installed on the lunar module, composed of 38 feet of thin gold-plated wire, capable of efficiently reflecting signals in the vacuum environment.
The signal was transmitted through the unified S-band system, covering about 250,000 miles from the Moon back to Earth.
This system was widely used in the Apollo Program, ensuring all communication signals, including voice, biomedical telemetry, and video, could be transmitted simultaneously.
The signal was first received by Australia’s Honeysuckle Creek tracking station, then relayed through ground stations like California’s Goldstone Observatory and Australia’s Parkes radio telescope, ultimately transmitted to global television networks.
England’s Goonhilly Antenna 1 also participated in signal relay, ensuring European viewers could watch in real time.
The hatch slowly opened, and Aldrin carefully moved down the ladder. His spacesuit felt bulky in the low gravity, each step probing the unknown.
He stopped at the last rung of the ladder, took a deep breath, and the sound of his breathing inside the helmet was clearly audible.
Finally, he made a gentle leap, his right boot stepping onto the soft moon soil, leaving an eternal footprint.
“Just as the professor said, this is one small step for me, one giant leap for humanity.” Aldrin’s voice transmitted back to Earth via radio, calm yet filled with endless awe.
At that moment, the Moon’s silence enveloped him—no wind, no birdsong, only boundless desolation.
On the gray-white ground, craters scarred like wounds left by time, distant mountains gleamed coldly in the sunlight, the sky was deep black, and Earth hung like a blue water droplet.
Aldrin’s emotions surged.
He thought of his home on Earth, his wife (not yet divorced) and children (not yet estranged) watching in front of the television at that moment.
He murmured softly: “We did it.”
Then, he turned to look at the lunar module, where Armstrong was preparing to follow in his footsteps, joining this cosmic adventure.
Armstrong came down the ladder, his movements slightly clumsy, like a child just learning to walk groping in the Moon’s low gravity.
When he took his first step, he couldn’t help laughing: “Professor, this feeling is so amazing, like doing ballet!”
Aldrin nodded in response: “Be careful, Neil, we’re live now.”
The two walked on the lunar surface, each step like a segment from a slow-motion movie.
They leaped forward, avoiding sharp rocks and pits of varying depths. The thickness of their spacesuits made them like knights in armor, but the excitement in their hearts made them forget all discomfort.
Aldrin looked up at Earth and exclaimed: “It’s so beautiful, like a glowing lighthouse hanging in the darkness.”
Armstrong focused on the moon soil underfoot: “This place is so eerily quiet, yet indescribably beautiful.”
Their primary task was to plant the American national flag.
This time there was only the American Stars and Stripes, no Soviet flag.
This was very important to the White House.
Aldrin retrieved the folded flag from the lunar module, and Armstrong helped unfold it.
In the Moon’s vacuum environment, the flag couldn’t wave in the wind, so they used a horizontal rod to support it, making the Stars and Stripes stand tall on the lunar surface.
In the sunlight, the red, white, and blue colors stood out vividly against the gray-white background, as if proclaiming humanity’s arrival to the universe.
At the moment of planting the flag, they paused their movements and solemnly saluted.
Armstrong whispered: “For America, for all humanity.”
Aldrin thought to himself: “Our names will be etched in history alongside this flag.”
Next was the scientific task of collecting moon rocks.
Aldrin used tongs to pick up rocks, carefully observing their textures. These unassuming stones carried billions of years of the Moon’s secrets, to unveil the universe’s mysteries for scientists on Earth.
Armstrong pulled out a small shovel, carefully digging moon soil like a gold prospector, and packed the samples into sealed bags.
While working, they communicated with the Cape Canaveral control center: “Control center, sample collection going smoothly, there are more rocks here than we imagined!”
Meanwhile, the live television broadcast on Earth transmitted this scene worldwide. In America, CBS anchor Walter Cronkite’s voice trembled: “Ladies and gentlemen, humanity has landed on the Moon! This is the intersection of dream and reality!”
The image of the astronauts leaping on the Moon brought tears to viewers in front of televisions.
In England, Major Freeman’s tone was steady yet unable to hide his excitement: “We have crossed Earth’s boundary once again, and humanity’s footprints have successfully imprinted on the Moon again.”
Japan’s NHK anchor was equally unable to suppress his excitement: “A feat for all humanity! Japan cheers with the world!”
In an ordinary family in Ohio, America, the Smith couple watched with their three children in front of the television.
Father John slapped the table and shouted: “This is America’s greatness! The professor really did it!” Mother Mary wiped her tears: “I’m proud of them.”
Conservative white men in the southern states also strongly supported the professor; they knew clearly that anyone else would not have succeeded so smoothly.
Pragmatic Winning Studies needs outweighed racist ideas.
The children jumped around the living room, imitating the astronauts’ movements, dreaming of flying to the Moon themselves.
Inside the Cape Canaveral mission control center, the atmosphere was tense yet fervent.
Lin Ran’s heart had calmed down.
Engineers stared at the data, monitoring every indicator of the astronauts and lunar module.
An engineer came forward and said softly: “Professor, they’re in good condition, systems all normal.”
Lin Ran smiled: “Keep watching, don’t relax.”
President Lyndon Johnson sat nearby clapping: “Fantastic! They’re our heroes!”
After completing the mission, Armstrong and Aldrin took a final look around the Moon.
The desolate surface gleamed faintly in the sunlight, their footprints quietly remaining in the moon soil, like a silent painting.
Armstrong said softly: “This is just the beginning; the universe has too many secrets waiting for us.”
Aldrin nodded: “Yes, Neil, our next stop might be Mars.”
Aldrin would not know that his next stop was still the Moon.
They returned to the lunar module, preparing to lift off with samples and humanity’s hopes.
On the gray-white surface of the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon, the lunar module “Eagle” stood quietly, surrounded by the astronauts’ footprints and scattered scientific instruments.
After completing the moonwalk, Aldrin and Armstrong returned to the cramped lunar module, preparing to execute the mission’s most critical step: lifting off from the lunar surface and returning to the command module Columbia in lunar orbit.
The command module was named Columbia, also considered by some to be Lin Ran commemorating Columbia University—mainly thought so by Columbia’s faculty and alumni; other Americans did not think so.
They believed it referred to the first American ship to circumnavigate the world in 1773: the Columbia sloop.
On Earth, in the Cape Canaveral mission control center, Lin Ran, White House senior officials, and the engineering team held their breath, while billions of global viewers tensely awaited this moment via live television.
Inside the lunar module, the air was filled with the scent of metal and disinfectant, the dashboard lights flashing green, indicating normal system operation.
Armstrong sat in the pilot’s seat, his gaze scanning every switch and instrument, confirming the ascent engine’s status.
His fingers lightly touched the control stick, his heart calm yet tense.
Aldrin stood nearby, checking the sample box containing 47.5 pounds of moon rocks and soil, ensuring it was securely fixed inside the cabin.
He opened a storage compartment, removing two cameras, life support backpacks, and boots, placing them on the lunar surface to lighten the lunar module’s weight.
He looked up at Armstrong and grinned: “Neil, we’ve made the Moon feel like home, but now it’s time to go back to the real home.”
Armstrong nodded: “Ready to go home.”
