{"id":168313,"date":"2014-07-09T18:33:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-09T22:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?migration=converted-node-344901"},"modified":"2023-07-25T11:23:23","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T15:23:23","slug":"wide-awake-on-the-sea-of-tranquillity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/apollo\/apollo-11\/wide-awake-on-the-sea-of-tranquillity\/","title":{"rendered":"Wide Awake on the Sea of Tranquillity"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"\" class=\"padding-top-5 padding-bottom-3 width-full maxw-full hds-module hds-module-full wp-block-nasa-blocks-article-intro\"><div class=\"width-full maxw-full article-header\"><div class=\"margin-bottom-2 width-full maxw-full\"><p class=\"label carbon-60 margin-0 margin-bottom-3 padding-0\">7 min read<\/p><h1 class=\"display-48 margin-bottom-2\">Wide Awake on the Sea of Tranquillity<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Neil Armstrong was supposed to be asleep. The moonwalking was done. The moon rocks were stowed away. His ship was ready for departure. In just a few hours, the Eagle\u2019s ascent module would blast off the Moon, something no ship had ever done before, and Neil needed his wits about him. He curled up on the Eagle\u2019s engine cover and closed his eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But he could not sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Neither could Buzz Aldrin. In the cramped lander, Buzz had the sweet spot, the floor. He stretched out as much as he could in his spacesuit and closed his eyes. Nothing happened. On a day like this, sleep was out of the question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>July 20, 1969:<\/strong> The day began on the farside of the Moon. Armstrong, Aldrin and crewmate Mike Collins flew their spaceship 60 miles above the cratered wasteland. No one on Earth can see the Moon\u2019s farside. Even today it remains a land of considerable mystery, but the astronauts had no time for sight-seeing. Collins pressed a button, activating a set of springs, and the spaceship split in two. The half named Columbia, with Collins on board, would remain in orbit. The other half, the Eagle, spiraled over the horizon toward the Sea of Tranquillity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou are Go for powered descent,\u201d Houston radioed, and the Eagle\u2019s engine fired mightily. The bug-shaped Eagle was so fragile a child could poke a hole through its gold foil exterior. Jagged moonrocks could do much worse. So when Armstrong saw where the computer was guiding them-into a boulder field-he quickly took control. The Eagle pitched forward and sailed over the rocks.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/apollo11_capcom.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/apollo11_capcom.jpg?w=800\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/apollo11_capcom.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/apollo11_capcom.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/apollo11_capcom.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/apollo11_capcom.jpg?resize=400,300 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/apollo11_capcom.jpg?resize=600,450 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">Astronauts Charlie Duke, left, and Jim Lovell, center, with flight controllers in mission control during the Apollo 11 landing.<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/aldrin-eagle.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"735\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/aldrin-eagle.jpg?w=720\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/aldrin-eagle.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/aldrin-eagle.jpg?resize=294,300 294w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/aldrin-eagle.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/aldrin-eagle.jpg?resize=392,400 392w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/aldrin-eagle.jpg?resize=588,600 588w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">Buzz Aldrin at work at the Eagle on the lunar surface.<br>See this image in 3D<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">NASA<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/aldrin-moon-experiment.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"635\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/aldrin-moon-experiment.jpg?w=800\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/aldrin-moon-experiment.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/aldrin-moon-experiment.jpg?resize=300,238 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/aldrin-moon-experiment.jpg?resize=768,610 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/aldrin-moon-experiment.jpg?resize=400,318 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/aldrin-moon-experiment.jpg?resize=600,476 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">Buzz Aldrin carries experiments from the Eagle onto the lunar surface.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">NASA<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, alarms were ringing in the background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cProgram alarm,\u201d announced Armstrong. \u201cIt\u2019s a 1202.\u201d The code was so obscure, almost no one knew what it meant. Should they abort? Should they land? \u201cWhat is it?\u201d he insisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scrambling back in Houston, a young engineer named Steve Bales produced the answer: The radar guidance system was pestering the computer with too many interruptions. No problem. \u201cWe\u2019ve got you\u2026\u201d radioed Houston. \u201cWe\u2019re Go on that alarm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And on they went. Things, however, were not going exactly as planned. The Sea of Tranquillity was supposed to be smooth, but it didn\u2019t look so smooth from the cockpit of the Eagle. Armstrong scanned the jumbled mare for a safe place to land. \u201c60 seconds,\u201d radioed Houston. \u201c30 seconds.\u201d Mission control was hushed as the telemetry came in. Soon, too soon, the ship would run out of fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Capcom later claimed the \u201cboys in mission control were turning blue\u201d when Armstrong announced \u201cI [found] a good spot.\u201d As for Armstrong, his heart was thumping 156 beats per minute according to bio-sensors. The fuel gauge read only 5.6% when the Eagle finally settled onto the floor of the Sea of Tranquillity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Houston (relieved): \u201cWe copy you down, Eagle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Armstrong (coolly): \u201cHouston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Immediately, they prepared to leave. This was NASA being cautious. No one had ever landed on the Moon before. What if a footpad started sinking into the moondust, or the Eagle sprung a leak? While Neil and Buzz made ready to blast off, Houston read the telemetry looking for signs of trouble. There were none, and three hours after touchdown, finally, Houston gave the \u201cokay.\u201d The moonwalk was on!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At 9:56 p.m. EDT, Neil descended the ladder and took \u201cone small step\u201d (left foot first) into history. From the shadow of the Eagle, he looked around: \u201cIt has a stark beauty all its own-like the high desert of the United States.\u201d Houston reminded him to gather the \u201ccontingency sample,\u201d and Neil put some rocks and soil in his pocket. If, for any reason, the astronauts had to take off in a hurry, scientists back on Earth would get at least a pocketful of the Moon for their experiments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Soon, Buzz joined him. \u201cBeautiful view!\u201d he exclaimed when he reached the lander\u2019s broad footpad. \u201cIsn\u2019t that something!\u201d agreed Armstrong. \u201cMagnificent sight out here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMagnificent desolation,\u201d said Aldrin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those two words summed up the yin-yang of the Moon. The impact craters, the toppled boulders, the layers of moondust-it was utterly alien. Yet Tranquillity Base felt curiously familiar, like home. Later Apollo astronauts had similar feelings. Maybe this comes from staring at the Moon so often from Earth. Or maybe it\u2019s because the Moon is a piece of Earth, spun off our young planet billions of years ago. No one knows; it just is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Truly, much of the scene was weird. The airless landscape jumped out at the astronauts with disconcerting clarity and, as a result, the horizon felt unnaturally close. Worse yet, the whole world seemed to curve, a side-effect of the Moon\u2019s short thousand-mile radius. \u201cDistances [here] are deceiving,\u201d noted Aldrin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sky was equally baffling. Although the Eagle had landed on a bright lunar morning, the sky was as black as midnight. An astronomer\u2019s paradise? No. Not a single star was visible. The glaring, sunlit ground ruined the astronaut\u2019s night vision. Only Earth itself was bright enough to be seen, luminous blue and white, hanging overhead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Armstrong was particularly fascinated by moondust, which he kicked and scuffed with his boots. On Earth, kicking dust makes a little cloud in the air-but there is no air on the Moon. \u201cWhen you kick the surface, [the dust goes out in] a little fan which, to me, is in the shape of a rose petal,\u201d recalls Armstrong. \u201cThere\u2019s just a little ring of particles-nothing behind \u2019em-no dust, no swirl, no nothing. It\u2019s really unique.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enough of that. It was time for work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Almost forgotten in Apollo lore are the <a href=\"http:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/headlines\/y2006\/images\/apollo11\/checklist.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">checklists<\/a> sewn to the forearms of the spacesuits. These \u201choney-do\u201d memos from NASA were jam-packed with activities-from inspecting the lander to deploying the TV to collecting samples. Some of the tasks were as detailed as bending over and reporting to Mission Control how it went. They had a lot to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Neil and Buzz deployed a solar wind collector, a seismometer and a laser retroreflector. They erected a flag and uncovered a plaque proclaiming, \u201cWe came in peace for all mankind.\u201d They took the first interplanetary phone call-\u201cI just can\u2019t tell you how proud we all are,\u201d said President Nixon from the Oval Office. They collected 47 lbs of moon rocks and took 166 pictures. Check. Check. Check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, after two and a half busy, exhilarating hours, it was time to go. The checklist continued: Climb back in the Eagle. Stow the rocks. Prepare the ship for departure (again). Eat dinner: Beef stew or cream of chicken soup. And finally, sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That was the limit. \u201cYou just are not going to get any sleep while you\u2019re waiting [for liftoff],\u201d Aldrin said after the mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Eagle was not a sleepy place. The tiny cabin was noisy with pumps and bright with warning lights that couldn\u2019t be dimmed. Even the window shades were glowing, illuminated by intense sunshine outside. \u201cAfter I got into my sleep stage and all settled down, I realized there was something else [bothering me],\u201d said Armstrong. The Eagle had an optical telescope sticking out periscope-style. \u201cEarth was shining right through the telescope into my eye. It was like a light bulb.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To get some relief, they closed the helmets of their spacesuits. It was quiet inside and they \u201cwouldn\u2019t be breathing all the dust\u201d they had tramped in after the moon walk, said Aldrin. Alas, it didn\u2019t work. The suit\u2019s cooling systems, so necessary out on the scorching lunar surface, were too cold for sleeping inside the Eagle. The best Aldrin managed was a \u201ccouple hours of mentally fitful drowsing.\u201d Armstrong simply stayed awake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the wake-up call finally came,\u201dTranquility Base, Tranquility Base, Houston. Over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Armstrong answered with alacrity, \u201cGood morning, Houston. Tranquility Base. Over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The long day was done. It was time to go home, to Earth, for a good night\u2019s sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Dr. Tony Phillips\/Science @NASA<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Special Thanks to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hq.nasa.gov\/office\/pao\/History\/alsj\/frame.html\" rel=\"noopener\">Apollo Lunar Surface Journal<\/a>, a must-read for historians of the Apollo program, and the source of some of the astronaut recollections reported here.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Neil Armstrong was supposed to be asleep. The moonwalking was done. The moon rocks were stowed away. His ship was ready for departure. In just a few hours, the Eagle\u2019s ascent module would blast off the Moon, something no ship had ever done before, and Neil needed his wits about him. He curled up on [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":175316,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2931,3451],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[5017],"coauthors":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Wide Awake on the Sea of Tranquillity","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/apollo\/apollo-11\/wide-awake-on-the-sea-of-tranquillity\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/apollo\/apollo-11\/wide-awake-on-the-sea-of-tranquillity\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/apollo11_capcom.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/apollo11_capcom.jpg"},"articleSection":"Missions","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NASA"}],"creator":["NASA"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["Humans in Space","Astronauts","Former Astronauts","Neil A. Armstrong","Apollo 11"],"dateCreated":"2014-07-09T22:33:00Z","datePublished":"2014-07-09T22:33:00Z","dateModified":"2023-07-25T15:23:23Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"Wide Awake on the Sea of Tranquillity\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/apollo\/apollo-11\/wide-awake-on-the-sea-of-tranquillity\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/apollo11_capcom.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2014-07-09T22:33:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"Missions\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"Humans in Space,Astronauts,Former Astronauts,Neil A. Armstrong,Apollo 11\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"NASA\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":7,"time_ago":"10 years","featured_image":{"id":175316,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/apollo11_capcom.jpg","title":"apollo11_capcom","alt":"","caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168313"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168313"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":340599,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168313\/revisions\/340599"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168313"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=168313"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=168313"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=168313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}