The first flight to the moon was made by the Soviet spacecraft. It was launched in 1958, on January 2. According to the flight program, the Luna 1 spacecraft traveled 6,000 kilometers from the surface of the Earth's satellite. In the same year, a little later, another spacecraft from the same series reached the lunar surface.
In order for the first humans to land on the moon, tremendous work has been done. It began in the late 1960s in the United States. To carry out a flight to a satellite of the Earth and the successful return of a person, it was decided over the next ten years.
Along with solving the priority task of creating a launch vehicle capable of transporting at least three hundred tons to near-Earth and at least one hundred tons to near-moon orbit, work was underway on the creation of the Apollo (spacecraft).
The launch of Apollo 11 was carried out in July 1969, 1969. July 20, the first steps on the moon were made. The ship's crew included Edwin Aldrin (pilot) and Neil Armstrong (commander). In the lunar orbit, the team was waiting in the command module Michael Collins (pilot).
Approaching the ship to the lunar surface raised dust. The astronauts noticed that the dust scattered almost parallel to the surface.
The first steps on the moon were careful. The speed of movement was not more than 0.5 m / s. The first traces on the moon were imprinted in a dusty surface, penetrating into it by about a centimeter. Maintaining balance did not cause any particular difficulties.
As Armstrong later said, gravity on a satellite is much nicer than on Earth, even slightly nicer than zero gravity. If you accidentally fall on your stomach, you could get up without difficulty, it was difficult to climb after falling on your back.
While the first astronauts on the moon studied the surface, the sun was rising. The small height of the Sun above the horizon did not allow us to clearly see the colors. Upon exiting the cockpit, the Americans discovered that the lunar soil and rock fragments are dark gray. At the time of landing, the surface was well lit. No stars were visible. The Earth was clearly visible.
Earth during the flight of the astronauts was located about 30 degrees from the zenith. When looking at it, mainly blue and white colors were distinguished. However, one could clearly see the gray-brown.
Being on the surface of the Earth’s satellite, the astronauts did not feel any smells. However, returning to the lunar cabin and taking off the helmets, they sharply felt the smell of soil. They brought moon dust with them on shoes and spacesuits. The smell was pungent.
The landing of people on the surface of the Earth’s satellite was an outstanding achievement in the history of conquering space. The first man to land on the moon stayed there for no more than two hours.
After Apollo 11, over the next few years space expeditions were sent six times to the Earth’s satellite. According to scientists, five of them were very successful. As a result of malfunctions, the Apollo 13 ship could not reach the surface of the moon. Having circled the lunar orbit, he returned to Earth.
In total, there were twelve astronauts on the surface of the Earth’s satellite. The duration of the stay of people on the moon was, in general, several days. About twenty-two hours were spent outside the cockpit, astronauts even drove several tens of lunar kilometers on a self-propelled vehicle.
For all the time visiting the surface of the satellite, a fairly large amount of research was performed. During the scientific study, about 380 kilograms of lunar soil were collected. The study of these samples was carried out not only in the laboratories of America, but also in other states.
After the launch of Apollo 17, flights to the moon were suspended. They resumed after twenty years. In 1994, a small satellite was launched into lunar orbit.