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After they landed on the Moon 55 years ago today, NASA's Apollo 11 continued on their trailblazing journey of making history by taking a remarkable image of the Earth from the Moon the next day. As part of Apollo 11's mission profile, the three crew were divided two to one, with one left piloting a module in a lunar orbit while the others had a chance to become the first humans to walk on the Moon.
After their lunar surface foray was complete, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took off from the Moon's surface in their lunar lander. They were united with Michael Collins, the designated command module pilot. While they were on their way to the module, Collins snapped another historic photo showing the Earth in the background of the ascending lunar lander.
NASA Astronaut Collins Snapped A Photo Of Earth From The Moon This Day 55 Years Ago
Aldrin and Armstrong landed on the Moon on July 20th, and Armstrong became the first human to walk on the Moon as the mission commander. He was followed by Aldrin, and the two spent their time on the surface collecting dust, planting the American flag, deploying scientific instruments, taking photographs and placing humanity's first plaque on the lunar surface. Along with the plaque, the crew also left the Apollo 1 mission patch and memorial medals commemorating their Soviet colleagues.
After their two and a half hour lunar foray ended, the crew returned to the lunar module and started their rest period as part of preparations for ascent. The astronauts slept for seven hours on the Moon, and then they flew to the command module which was being piloted by Collins.
Before they could dock with the orbiter, Collins had to locate the lunar module on the Moon's surface. This saw him orbit the Moon several times, and as part of the contingency plan, Collins was also trained to land on the Moon to rescue the astronauts in case the lander failed to fly to him. After Armstrong and Aldrin ascended to the command module, the ascent stage of the lunar lander, which was made of the engine and other equipment, was separated, and it entered into a lunar orbit that estimates have shown continued for decades later.
After they started to approach the command module, Collings started to take photographs of their flight, several of which show the Earth visible as an orb in the background. Their docking with the command module marked the end of the lunar portion of Apollo 11's journey and the crew prepared to return to Earth. After their return, the crew would spend time quarantined, which would later prove to be fruitless as NASA discovered that there was no life present on the Moon.
About 3.5 hours after Armstrong and Aldrin launched from the surface of the Moon #OTD in 1969, Michael Collins in the #Apollo11 Command Module spotted the Lunar Module. Collins took photographs of the approach, including this beauty with the Earth rising above the lunar horizon. pic.twitter.com/IzZRtkoriK
— NASA History Office (@NASAhistory) July 21, 2024
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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