posted 02-21-2017 12:19 AM               

From 1969 to 2011, he consistently viewed the crewed lunar landing of the lunar module as the defining moment of Apollo 11.

Neil Armstrong wrote on page 25 of LIFE Magazine, August 22, 1969:

In retrospect touchdown was for me the single most striking point of achievement in the flight. Lift-off was the next most striking. I thought quite a bit about that single ascent engine and how much depended upon it.

In my view, the emotional moment was the landing. That was human contact with the moon, the landing... It was at the time when we landed that we were there, we were in the lunar environment, the lunar gravity. That, in my view, was…the emotional high. And the business of getting down the ladder to me was much less significant.

What pilot takes pride in stepping down from his vehicle?

Course, the first statement we made was "The Eagle has landed... Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed." And that was the signature line for achieving the presidential goal that we had been working for a decade on. And in our view that was a very important statement. Getting down on... that was less important in our view, but it was significant to actually touch your boot into the sand and recognize that it's okay to stand there.

posted 02-21-2017 02:15 AM            

The Apollo 11 EVA was very basic, pretty much mostly symbolic, apart from a quick "how does the EMU work and move." No complex scientific or geological investigation. Apollo 12 starts to be different as there's something to go and see (Surveyor), and by the J missions well, I guess it depends if you prefer flying or exploration.

posted 02-21-2017 10:35 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Grounded!:
What pilot takes pride in stepping down from his vehicle?

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posted 02-21-2017 04:16 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Grounded!:
It may be difficult for some of us to comprehend why a CMP would be perfectly satisfied with his flight assignment...

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People keep asking me if I was lonely up there in Columbia while Neil and Buzz were on the moon. I wasn't. I've been flying airplanes by myself for about 17 years, and the idea of being in a flying vehicle alone was in no way alarming. In fact, sometimes I prefer to be by myself.

posted 02-22-2017 04:28 PM               

My only real problem on the surface was that there were so many places that I would like to have investigated, to find out just what was beyond the next hill, so to speak.

I had thought about that a little before the flight, mainly because so many people had made such a big point of it. I had also thought about it a little on the way to the moon, but not much. It wasn't until after landing that I made up my mind what to say: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Beyond those words I don't recall any particular emotion or feeling other than a little caution, a desire to be sure it was safe to put my weight on that surface outside Eagle's footpad.

Of all the spectacular views we had, the most impressive to me was on the way toward the moon, when we flew through its shadow.

Our goal, when we were assigned to this flight last January, seemed almost impossible. There were a lot of unknowns, unproved ideas, unproved hardware. The LM had never flown. There were many things about the lunar surface we did not know.

I felt a successful lunar landing might inspire men around the world to believe that impossible goals really are possible...

posted 02-22-2017 09:59 PM               

We couldn't wait to get out..Already I knew we were in good shape; we would be able to walk over to Surveyor easily. I was sure we'd get to do both our EVAs and I was pretty exhilarated. Even without the exhilaration I would have gone bounding around on the moon.

We had a very happy flight... I, personally, have one frustration: that last 60 miles I didn't go. It's like reaching out your finger and not quite being able to touch. Some day, I want to go that last 60 miles down to the moon.

posted 02-25-2017 09:16 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by moorouge:
...a good pilot is one with the same number of landings as take-offs.

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posted 05-27-2017 07:57 PM               

[During the 1991 mission review, I put the following question to Neil and Buzz and was so fascinated by Buzz's lengthy answer that I have included the entire exchange here. My question was "On the way home from dinner last night, my wife and I were talking a little bit about a difference in perception: namely that, from the public's point of view, the stuff that's about to happen, the two of you going outside on the surface, the first footprints, and so on is the exciting stuff; whereas, from the program point of view, the goal of the mission is the landing and return, demonstrating the capabilities of the spacecraft. Do you have any comments about that?"]

[Armstrong - "As I've always said, the highlight for me, personally, was the final descent and landing. That was, after all, our major objective and it was a very difficult and risky, complex part of the flight. And I, personally, not being a geologist and so on, saw no special challenge in the surface work, which was something appropriate to do but, in my mind, never had the importance of the landing itself. (Chuckling) From a pilot's perspective."]

[Aldrin - "I'm a transportation person, primarily. An operator of vehicles who found myself thrust into the situation of suited spacewalks - or EVAs - on Gemini 12 and Apollo 11. And I found that my preparation was most adequate for that. There's no doubt that the single most significant achievement on our flight was our descent to a foreign surface and the ascent to orbit to complete a rendezvous, join up, and come back."]