The moon landing
Hour for hour
Text: Exhibition curator
Here you can follow the eight-day journey from hour to hour. Time is given in American East Coast time, which is what NASA has been using since the Saturn V / Apollo spacecraft was launched from Florida. Houston was one hour behind - Norway was five hours ahead (Norway did not have daylight saving time in 1969...). This means that the landing on the Moon occurred on July 20 at 4:17 p.m. according to NASA's log - then it was 9:17 p.m. here in Norway. Armstrong's first steps on the Moon occurred on July 20 at 10:56 p.m. American time. By then it was July 21 at 3:56 a.m. in Norway.
The source is NASA's website, here you can go to see the original in English, as well as see pictures of the events. Links in the text go to pictures from these pages. All pictures are the property of NASA.
Hereispage for Apollo 11, with several links to images and documents.
16 July 1969
4:15 - Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins are awakened and eat a hearty breakfast ahead of a week of spacefood... All were born in 1930, are 180 cm tall and weigh 75 kg. Armstrong is a civilian aviator and test pilot. The other two are officers and airmen in the US Air Force.
5:35 - The astronauts put on their suits
6:27 - The astronauts are driven to the launch pad
6:54 - Neil Armstrong takes the command post on the left in the Apollo capsule. Five minutes later Collins sits on the right and Aldrin in the middle.
9:27 - The gangway over to the Apollo capsule was removed.
9:32 - Eight seconds before launch time, the first of the Saturn V's five engines is ignited. The other four follow in rapid succession. For a few seconds, the flames light up the area without a sound, before the support arms on the launch tower are swung away. At one second to the time of the scheduled launch, lifts off3,500-foot-tall Saturn V rocket from Launch Pad 39A at Cape Kennedy, Florida. The event is watched live on television around the world, with an estimated one million people in Florida watching the rocket blast off into space, including half of the U.S. Congress and more than 3,000 members of the press from more than 56 countries.
9:35 - After three minutes, the rocket is 42 miles (68 km) above sea level, and the rocket's escape pods are removed. The speed is over 6,200 mph (10,000 km/h).
9:44 - The Saturn V's two lower stages have burned out and disconnected, and the third stage propels the spacecraft into orbit around the Earth, 120 miles (190 km) above sea level.
12:22 - The third stage of the rocket ignites again, sending Apollo out of Earth's orbit toward the moon. The speed is 23,800 mph (38,600 km/h).
12:49 - The covers around the lunar landing vehicle "Eagle" ("The Eagle") are removed, the Command Section "Columbia" is separated from the rest of the rocket, drives about 30 meters forward, turns 180 degrees and returns to the lunar landing vehicle for docking. After docking, the rest of the rocket is disconnected, and "Columbia" and "Eagle" continue towards the moon alone.
14:54 - Apollo 11 is now 40,000 kilometers from Earth and continues its journey towards the moon at a speed of 20,783 km/h. The astronauts eat and begin their "evening routine".
20:52 - The command center in Houston says good night to theastronauts, and lets them sleep after a long day.
17 July 1969
8:48 - The command center in Houston gives the astronauts morning news from the newspapers, with its own sports review.
12:17 - The rockets ignite for three seconds for a minor course correction.
19:31 - The astronauts begin a half-hour live broadcast on television, with color images of the Earth receding and the interior of the spacecraft.
22:42 - The commandcenter in Houston says good night.
18 July 1969
9:41 - The command center in Houston lets the astronauts sleep an extra hour on the third day. After breakfast, the astronauts begin "housekeeping" such as charging batteries, draining waste water, and checking fuel and oxygen.
14:57 - The astronauts receive a brief news update from Earth.
16:40 - Another live television broadcast goes on the air from Apollo. This time with the clearest and most beautiful color images of Earth ever shown, 324,000 kilometers from Earth. Armstrong and Aldrin also open the hatch of the lunar module and board for inspection.
22:00 - The command center in Houston says good night.
19 July 1969
8:32 - The command center in Houston wakes the astronauts.
10:01 - The astronauts receive news, and are told of the worldwide interest in the journey.
10:31 - Collins reports that they can now see a fantastic starry sky.
10:42 - Armstrong reports a fabulous view of the moon, which he believes alone is worth the price of the trip...
12:58 - The command center in Houston informs that there are 23 minutes left until Apollo reaches orbit around the moon, and the engines must be ignited for stabilization in orbit. Seconds later, they are told that the engines must be ignited immediately.
13:13 - Apollo is now in orbit around the moon, and disappears on the far side of the moon and out of radio contact with Earth. 13:28 - Apollo's main rocket engine ignites for six minutes to reduce speed and altitude above the lunar surface.
13:55 - Armstrong reports that they now have the first view of the landing areas. The maps and images made after Apollo 8 and 10 turn out to be quite accurate, but as Armstrong says, "Just like a football game, watching it on TV is not the same as being there."
15:56 - A 35-minute TV broadcast begins with filming of the lunar surface.
17:44 - The rocket engines are fired for 17 seconds to stabilize the orbit.
18:57 - Apollo 11 circles the moon with a lap time of about two hours. Aldrin and Armstrong move once again into the lunar lander for inspection.
20 July 1969
9:27 - Aldrin takes his seat in the lunar lander and begins the system startup. An hour later, Armstrong also comes aboard, and together they check all systems and deploy the landing legs.
13:46 - The lunar lander "Eagle" with Armstrong and Aldrin on board separates from the command module "Columbia" with Collins on board. 14:12 - Collins ignites the rocket engines and moves Columbia about 3 kilometers away. 15:08 - Armstrong and Aldrin ignite the lunar lander's engine for the first time. 15:47 - Collins reports that he can see the lunar lander on its way down to the moon, and that everything seems to be going great. 16:05 - Armstrong starts the engines to start braking the lunar lander before landing on the moon. The landing site they have chosen is not the easiest. It is located 6.4 kilometers from the planned location, in the southwest corner of the Sea of Tranquility. As they approach, Armstrong sees through the window that they are approaching a large crater full of large rocks. At the same time, the onboard computer system fails due to overload. Armstrong therefore takes over control of the craft manually, and steers to find a better place to land. His heart rate rises from 77 to 156 beats per minute. While Armstrong steers, Aldrin reads data on the altitude and tries to look out the small windows. The rocket engine swirls up dust, making it difficult to both see and judge speed. Three 150 cm. long feelers hanging from the landing legs light a warning light in the cockpit when they hit the ground. As the warning light lights up, Armstrong shuts down the engine. 16:17 - The lunar landing craft "Eagle" makes a perfectly soft landing on the moon, with a thud similar to when an airplane touches down on the runway during landing. Armstrong immediately reports to Houston "The Eagle has landed. " In the control center in Houston, cheers break out, and the flight controller reports back that they can "start breathing again". The moon landing was more nerve-wracking than television viewers around the world had the impression: When the "Eagle" landed, it had only 17-30 seconds of fuel left. Aldrin reports on the view out the window, describing the lunar surface, colors and formations as they were seen for the first time by a human. 18:00 - Armstrong recommends that they accelerate their exit from the lunar lander and onto the lunar surface. They are still too excited to sleep, as planned. Houston approves the proposal, and the astronauts begin preparations to leave the "Eagle". 22:39 - Five hours before the schedule, Armstrong opens the hatch of the lunar lander and climbs out of the hatch feet first. It is a difficult process, with a large suit and backpack and a small hatch. Slowly he descends to the bottom of the nine steps of the ladder, where he waits for the five hundred million plus television viewers on Earth to witness the big moment. 22:56 - Armstrong places his left foot on the lunar surface and says " That 's one small step for a man , one giant leap for mankind . "
Image: This is the image that millions of television viewers saw. Astronaut Neil Armstrong jumps down from the bottom rung of the ladder, landing on the lunar surface as the first human, saying "That's one small step for man - one giant leap for mankind." Armstrong tries to move around, and finds it easier than expected. He begins to collect the first samples from the surface, all the while reporting what he sees.
23:11 - Aldrin comes out on the ladder, and gives Armstrong a Hasselblad camera so that he can take good pictures of Aldrin as he descends onto the moon. Armstrong sets up a commemorative plaque that says "Man came in peace" and the names of the astronauts and US President Nixon.
23:41 - The astronauts find a brought American flag on a pole, and plant it in the ground.
23:47 - The control center in Houston reports that US President Nixon is on the phone and will say a few words to the astronauts.
23:48 - Nixon speaks from the White House in Washington while the two astronauts salute the flag. After the ceremonies, work begins to collect material samples and set up brought experiment packages with measuring instruments. Among other things. There is a seismograph that will be able to measure tremors after, for example, a meteorite impact on the moon, a laser reflector that will make it possible to measure the distance to the Earth more accurately than before, and a sail that will capture particles from the solar wind.
21 July 1969
0:54 - The astronauts' allotted time on the lunar surface ends after 2 hours and 47 minutes, and Aldrin returns to the lunar module as the first person to land. 1:09 - Armstrong (Photo from the lunar module) follows Aldrin into the lunar module. (Photo of Aldrin)1:11 - The hatch closes, and the astronauts undock their suits.
4:25 - The astronauts are told to sleep, after giving detailed reports on their stay and the geological observations they have made.
9:44- Michael Collins is awakened as he circles the moon alone. From Houston it is reported that "no man since Adam has been more alone than Collins for the 47 minutes of each orbit around the moon when he was on the far side of the moon without contact with the outside world."
11:13 - The astronauts on the Moon are awakened and begin preparations to launch of the Lunar Module back into lunar orbit for docking with the command module "Columbia".
13:54 - The rocket engine ignites, and using the lower part of the Lunar Module as a launch pad, the astronauts lift off from the Moon. They bring with them soil and rock samples, the sail from the solar wind experiment, films taken with the Hasselblad camera and a movie camera, flags of the United States, the United Nations, and over 130 other nations. Back on the Moon, a number of items are left - the largest being the lower part of the Lunar Module. In addition, they leave behind their backpacks and lunar boots, cameras and tools - and the American flag.
17:35 - "Eagle" docks with "Columbia" in lunar orbit, and Collins is reunited.
19:42 - The Lunar Module is undocked.
22 July 1969
0:56 - The rocket engine fires to launch Apollo 11 out of lunar orbit and onto a course toward Earth.
4:30 - The astronauts sleep.
1:00 - The astronauts wake up for the first day of the return trip.
1:39 - Apollo 11 passes the point where it leaves the Moon's gravitational field and enters the Earth's gravitational field.
4:02 - Course correction is made.
9:08 - An 18-minute television broadcast to Earth begins.
23 July 1969
2:14 - The astronauts are asleep.
12:20 - The astronauts wake up and start simple systems checks while chatting with the control center.
15:56 - Apollo 11 is halfway back to Earth, 187,052 kilometers from the ocean surface where they will land.
19:03 - A final TV broadcast begins.
24 July 1969
6:47 - The astronauts are awakened and begin preparations for landing.
12:21 - The command module separates from the service module.
12:35 - The command module enters the Earth's atmosphere.
12:51 - Apollo 11 lands in the Pacific Ocean, 1,500 kilometers southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, and about 24 kilometers from the waiting US Navy vessel "Hornet".
13:20 - A helicopter arrives at Apollo 11, the hatch is opened, and a frogman gives the astronauts isolation suits.
13:28 - The astronauts leave Apollo wearing the isolation suits, and are sprayed with disinfectant to protect against any microbes they may have brought with them from the moon.
13:57 - The astronauts land on the deck of "Hornet", where they are immediately transported into an isolation tank for quarantine. They must remain there until July 27.
15:00 - US President Nixon greets the astronauts through the window of the isolation tank, gives a speech, and invites the astronauts to dinner at the White House on August 13.
15:55 - The remains of the large rocket that was launched 8 days earlier - the command section of Apollo 11, are hoisted aboard the "Hornet".
This is how man's first journey to the moon ended, after 195 hours, 18 minutes and 35 seconds. It is described as the most problem-free expedition to date, everything went according to plan and timetable.
See more images from NASA's photo collection.

