The First Moon Walk Hits the Papers
THE LINCOLN STAR «7TH YEAB No. 250 LINCOLN, NEB., MONDAY MORNING, JULY 2 1, 196» 18 Pages 10 CENTS HAN WALKS HOON • • • Space Center, Houston (T)—Two Americans landed on the moon and explored its surface for some two hours Sunday, planting the first human footprints in its dusty soil. They raised their nation’s flag and talked to their President on earth 240,000 miles away. Both civilian Neil Alden Armstrong and Air Force Col. Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. reported they were back in their spacecraft at 12:11 a.m. COT Monday. “The hatch is closed and locked,” Armstrong reported. Millions on their home planet watched on television as the pair saluted their flag and scoured the rocky, rugged surface. The first to step on the moon was Armstrong, 38, of Wapakoneta, Ohio. His foot touched the surface at 9:56 p.m. CDT and he remained out for two hours and 14 minutes. ‘Leap For Mankind’ His first words standing on the moon were, “That’s one small step for man, a giant leap for mankind.” Twenty minutes after he stepped down, Aldrin followed. “Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful,” he said. “A magnificent desolation.” He remained out for one hour and 44 minutes. Their spacecraft Eagle landed on the moon at 3:18 p.m., and they were out of it and on the surface some six hours later. Granted Extra Time At the end, mission control granted them 9xtra time on the lunar surface. Armstrong Armstrong Takes Historic Step was given 15 extra minutes, Aldrin 12. Even while they were on the lunar surface, lick Observatory in southern California sent a laser light beam to the moon, aiming at the small mirror the astronauts had installed on the surface. They got a reflection back on earth. Once back in the spaceship they began immediately to repressurize the cabin with oxygen. They stowed the samples of rocks and soil. “We’ve got about 20 pounds of carefully selected, if not documented samples,” Armstrong said, referring to the contents of one of two boxes filled with lunar material. The minutes behind were unforgettable for them, and for the world. Hazards Ahead The moments ahead were still full of hazai'd. Monday, at 12:55 p.m., they are scheduled to blast off from the moon to catch up with their orbiting mothership above for the trip home. President Nixon’s voice came to the ears of the astronauts on the moon from the Oval Room at the White House. “All the people on earth are surely one in their pride of what you have done, and one in their prayers that you will return safely ...” ‘A Privilege’ Aldi'in replied, “Thank you Mr. President. It is a privilege to represent the people of all peaceable nations.” Armstrong added his thanks. Armstrong’s steps were cautious at first. He almost shuffled. “The surface is fine and powdered, like powdered charcoal to the soles of the foot,” he said. “I can see my footprints of my boots in the fine sandy particles.” Armstrong read from the plaque on the side of Eagle, the spacecraft that had brought them to the surface. In a steady voice, he said, “Here man first set foot on the moon, July, 1969. We came in peace for all mankind.” As in the moments he walked alone, Armstrong’s voice was all that was heard from the lunar surface. “This has to be the most historic telephone call ever made,” he said. “I just can’t tell you how proud I am . . . Because of what you have done the heavens have become part of man’s world. As you talk to us from the Sea of Tranquillity, it inspires us to redouble our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to man. Appeared Phosphorescent He appeared phosphorescent in the blinding sunlight. He walked carefully at first in the gravity of the moon, only one-sixth as strong as on earth. Then he tried wide gazelle-like leaps. Aldrin tried a kind of kangaroo-hop, but found it unsatisfactory. “The so-called kangaroo hop doesn’t seem to work as well as the more conventional pace,” he said, ‘it would get rather tiring after several hundred.” In (he lesser gravity of the moon, each of the men, 165-pounders on Earth, weighed something over 25 pounds on the moon. .\rmstrong began the rock picking on the lunar surface. Aldrin Joined him using a small scoop to put lunar soil in a plastic bag. Nearly Ignored .\bove them, invisible and nearly ignored, was Air Force LI. Col. Michael Collins, 38, keeping his lonely patrol around the moon or the moment w-hen his companions blast-off and return to him for t h e trip back home. Collins said he saw a small white object on the moon, but didn’t think it was the spacecraft. It was in the wrong place. Back in Houston, where the nearly half moon rode the sky in its zenith, Mrs. Jan Armstrong watched her husband o ii television. “I eaiTl believe it is really happening,” she said. Armstrong surveyed the rocky, rugged scene around him. “It has a stark beautv all its own,” he said. “It’s different. But it’s very pretty out here.” They took pictures of each other, and Alrin shot views of the spacecraft against the lunar background. In a world where temperatures vary some 5(X) degrees, from 243 degrees above zero in .sunlight, to 279 below in shadow, the men in the spacesuits felt comfortable. Aldrin reported, “in general, lime spent in the shadow doesn’t seem t(> have any thermal effects inside (he suit. There is a tendency to feel cooler in the shadow than out of the sun.” The sun was a problem for vision, ‘T have so much glare from the sun off the visor that when I go into shadow, it lake.s a while for my eyes to adjust,” Aldrin said. Color Disappeared The dust, too, was unusual. “The color of my boot has completely disappeared into ... I don’t know how to describe it — a kind of cocoa has covered my boot,” In spite of the dust they raised as their rocket flame churned the surface from a.s Apollo 1 1 Moon Flight News On Pages 3, 12 high as 40 feet, there was no discernible crater below the descent engine, they reported. If the moon walk was thrilling, the dangerous descent and landing were hardly less. “Houston,” Armstrong called out after the lunar lander settled on the moon’s surface.
