Google Doodle is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing. The doodle, which is basically a video, re-enacts the scenes of Apollo 11 Space Mission. Fifty years ago, NASA was successfully able to carry out a manned mission to the lunar surface. The manned mission was carried out by astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Armstrong became the first human to ever step foot on the lunar surface. The Apollo 11 mission’s significance isn’t just about landing humans on the surface of the moon, but also successfully bringing them back home.
Google Doodle celebrates 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 Moon Landing
Today’s video Doodle takes Google users through the journey to the moon and back. Interestingly, the whole journey is narrated by Apollo 11 command module pilot Michael Collins. Google notes that a team of some 400,000 people from around the world worked on Project Apollo. The journey of Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins began when Saturn V rocket blasted off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969. The lunar module, known as “the Eagle” separated for a 13-minute journey to the surface. While Armstrong and Aldrin did moonwalk, Collins stayed behind to control the command module.
On July 20, 1969, they successfully steered the command module to a safe landing on the crater dubbed the “Sea of Tranquility”. On the way to the moon’s surface, the Apollo 11 crew lost radio contact with Earth, their onboard computers showed unfamiliar error codes and even ran short of fuel. But they carried out the mission nonetheless. Armstrong became the first human to ever step foot on the moon. His words, “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind” is now infamous.
The mission to the moon can be termed as first real inspiration for manned space exploration programs around the world. It is the success of Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins that has led to plans to send humans to Mars. From CAT scans to freeze-dried food, the successful Moon Landing in 1969 has led to countless scientific breakthroughs. NASA is currently running a program called Artemis that aims to bring the first woman to the moon.
