Editing Apollo 11 (section)

=== Lunar surface operations ===
Preparations for [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] to walk on the Moon began at 23:43 UTC.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=107}} These took longer than expected; three and a half hours instead of two.<ref name="ALSJ 3" /> During training on Earth, everything required had been neatly laid out in advance, but on the Moon the cabin contained a large number of other items as well, such as checklists, food packets, and tools.{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|p=22}} Six hours and thirty-nine minutes after landing, Armstrong and Aldrin were ready to go outside, and ''Eagle'' was depressurized.{{sfn|Cortright|1975|p=215}}

''Eagle''{{'}}s hatch was opened at 02:39:33.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=107}} Armstrong initially had some difficulties squeezing through the hatch with his [[primary life support system|portable life support system]] (PLSS).<ref name="ALSJ 3">{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.summary.html |title=First Steps |date=1995 |editor1-last=Jones |editor1-first=Eric M. |editor2-last=Glover |editor2-first=Ken |work=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |access-date=September 23, 2006 |archive-date=October 9, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061009173831/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.summary.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Some of the highest heart rates recorded from Apollo astronauts occurred during LM egress and ingress.{{sfn|Johnston|Dietlein|Berry|1975|pp=115–120}} At 02:51 Armstrong began his descent to the lunar surface. The remote control unit on his chest kept him from seeing his feet. Climbing down the nine-rung ladder, Armstrong pulled a D-ring to deploy the modular equipment stowage assembly (MESA) folded against ''Eagle''{{'s}} side and activate the TV camera.<ref>{{cite news |title=Neil Armstrong, first man to step on the Moon, dies at 82 |first=Paul |last=Duggan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/neil-armstrong-first-man-to-step-on-the-moon-dies-at-82/2012/08/25/7091c8bc-412d-11e0-a16f-4c3fe0fd37f0_story.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=August 25, 2012 |access-date=May 25, 2013 |archive-date=February 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212015720/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/neil-armstrong-first-man-to-step-on-the-moon-dies-at-82/2012/08/25/7091c8bc-412d-11e0-a16f-4c3fe0fd37f0_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ALSJ 4">{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.step.html |title=One Small Step |date=1995 |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Eric M. |work=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=August 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808082450/https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.step.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Apollo 11 used [[slow-scan television]] (TV) incompatible with broadcast TV, so it was displayed on a special monitor and a conventional TV camera viewed this monitor (thus, a broadcast of a broadcast), significantly reducing the quality of the picture.<ref name="Blunder 5">{{cite news |title=One giant blunder for mankind: how NASA lost Moon pictures |last=Macey |first=Richard |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/one-giant-blunder-for-mankind-how-nasa-lost-moon-pictures/2006/08/04/1154198328978.html |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |location=Sydney |date=August 5, 2006 |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=May 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529192922/https://www.smh.com.au/national/one-giant-blunder-for-mankind-how-nasa-lost-moon-pictures-20060805-gdo42n.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The signal was received at [[Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex|Goldstone]] in the United States, but with better fidelity by [[Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station]] near [[Canberra]] in Australia. Minutes later the feed was switched to the more sensitive [[Parkes Observatory|Parkes radio telescope]] in Australia.{{sfn|Sarkissian|2001|p=287}} Despite some technical and weather difficulties, black and white images of the first lunar EVA were received and broadcast to at least 600&nbsp;million people on Earth.{{sfn|Sarkissian|2001|p=287}} Copies of this video in broadcast format were saved and are widely available, but [[Apollo 11 missing tapes|recordings of the original slow scan source transmission from the lunar surface]] were likely destroyed during routine magnetic tape re-use at NASA.<ref name="Blunder 5" />

[[File:Apollo 11 Landing - first steps on the moon.ogv|thumb|right|Video of Neil Armstrong and the first step on the Moon]]
{{Listen|pos=right|filename=Frase de Neil Armstrong.ogg|title=That's one small step ...|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}

After describing the surface dust as "very fine-grained" and "almost like a powder",<ref name="ALSJ 4" /> at 02:56:15,<ref name="AT-20190723">{{cite magazine |last=Stern |first=Jacob |title=One Small Controversy About Neil Armstrong's Giant Leap—When, exactly, did the astronaut set foot on the moon? No one knows. |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/07/tiny-imprecision-heart-apollo-11/594556/ |date=July 23, 2019 |magazine=[[The Atlantic]] |access-date=July 23, 2019 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108002121/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/07/tiny-imprecision-heart-apollo-11/594556/ |url-status=live }}</ref> six and a half hours after landing, Armstrong stepped off ''Eagle''{{'s}} landing pad and declared: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."{{efn|name=transcript}}{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=108}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/F_Apollo_35th_Anniversary.html |title=Apollo Moon Landing—35th Anniversary |date=July 15, 2004 |editor-last=Canright |editor-first=Shelley |work=NASA Education |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=July 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704144425/http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/F_Apollo_35th_Anniversary.html |url-status=live }} Includes the "a" article as intended.</ref>

Armstrong intended to say "That's one small step for a man", but the word "a" is not audible in the transmission, and thus was not initially reported by most observers of the live broadcast. When later asked about his quote, Armstrong said he believed he said "for a man", and subsequent printed versions of the quote included the "a" in square brackets. One explanation for the absence may be that his accent caused him to slur the words "for a" together; another is the intermittent nature of the audio and video links to Earth, partly because of storms near Parkes Observatory. A more recent digital analysis of the tape claims to reveal the "a" may have been spoken but obscured by static. Other analysis points to the claims of static and slurring as "face-saving fabrication", and that Armstrong himself later admitted to misspeaking the line.<ref>{{snopes | link = http://www.snopes.com/quotes/onesmall.asp | title = One Small Step}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Armstrong 'got Moon quote right' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5398560.stm |date=October 2, 2006 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=January 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127201446/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5398560.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Armstrong's 'poetic' slip on Moon |first=Pallab |last=Ghosh |author-link=Pallab Ghosh |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8081817.stm |date=June 3, 2009 |publisher=BBC News |location=London |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=February 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223003808/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8081817.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

About seven minutes after stepping onto the Moon's surface, Armstrong collected a contingency soil sample using a sample bag on a stick. He then folded the bag and tucked it into a pocket on his right thigh. This was to guarantee there would be some lunar soil brought back in case an emergency required the astronauts to abandon the EVA and return to the LM.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/lsc/10010.pdf |title=Lunar Sample Compendium: Contingency Soil (10010) |last=Meyer |first=Charles |date=2009 |work=Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=May 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510225907/http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/lsc/10010.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Twelve minutes after the sample was collected,{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=108}} he removed the TV camera from the MESA and made a panoramic sweep, then mounted it on a tripod.<ref name="ALSJ 3" /> The TV camera cable remained partly coiled and presented a tripping hazard throughout the EVA. Still photography was accomplished with a [[Hasselblad]] camera that could be operated hand-held or mounted on Armstrong's [[Apollo/Skylab A7L|Apollo space suit]].{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|p=23}} Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface. He described the view with the simple phrase: "Magnificent desolation."<ref name="ALSJ 4" />

Armstrong said moving in the [[Gravitation of the Moon|lunar gravity]], one-sixth of Earth's, was "even perhaps easier than the simulations&nbsp;... It's absolutely no trouble to walk around."<ref name="ALSJ 4" /> Aldrin joined him on the surface and tested methods for moving around, including two-footed kangaroo hops. The PLSS backpack created a tendency to tip backward, but neither astronaut had serious problems maintaining balance. Loping became the preferred method of movement. The astronauts reported that they needed to plan their movements six or seven steps ahead. The fine soil was quite slippery. Aldrin remarked that moving from sunlight into ''Eagle''{{'s}} shadow produced no temperature change inside the suit, but the helmet was warmer in sunlight, so he felt cooler in shadow.<ref name="ALSJ 4" /> The MESA failed to provide a stable work platform and was in shadow, slowing work somewhat. As they worked, the moonwalkers kicked up gray dust, which soiled the outer part of their suits.{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|p=23}}
[[File:Buzz salutes the U.S. Flag.jpg|thumb|left|Aldrin salutes the deployed United States flag on the [[lunar surface]].]]

The astronauts planted the [[Lunar Flag Assembly]] containing a [[flag of the United States]] on the lunar surface, in clear view of the TV camera. Aldrin remembered, "Of all the jobs I had to do on the Moon the one I wanted to go the smoothest was the flag raising."<ref name="theattic">{{cite web |title=A Flag on the Moon |url=https://www.theattic.space/home-page-blogs/2018/9/27/4j6861bez3j568c31rzj7lynevmtpt |website=The Attic |access-date=October 1, 2018 |archive-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726090216/https://www.theattic.space/home-page-blogs/2018/9/27/4j6861bez3j568c31rzj7lynevmtpt |url-status=live }}</ref> But the astronauts struggled with the telescoping rod and could only insert the pole about {{Convert|5|cm|in|0|abbr=|order=flip}} into the hard lunar surface. Aldrin was afraid it might topple in front of TV viewers, but gave "a crisp West Point salute".<ref name="theattic" /> Before Aldrin could take a photo of Armstrong with the flag, President Richard Nixon spoke to them through a telephone-radio transmission, which Nixon called "the most historic phone call ever made from the White House."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals/apollo11.html |title=Exhibit: Apollo 11 and Nixon |date=March 1996 |work=American Originals |publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration]] |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=April 13, 2008 |archive-date=November 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114001748/http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals/apollo11.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Nixon originally had a long speech prepared to read during the phone call, but Frank Borman, who was at the White House as a NASA liaison during Apollo 11, convinced Nixon to keep his words brief.{{sfn|Borman|Serling|1988|pp=237–238}}

{{blockquote|'''Nixon:''' Hello, Neil and Buzz. I'm talking to you by telephone from the Oval Room at the White House. And this certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made from the White House.<!-- "from the White House" was not clearly audible in the transmitted audio (although perhaps the "ouse" in "House" was), but was clearly spoken in a local recording of the call and appears in the source transcript --> I just can't tell you how proud we all are of what you have done. For every American, this has to be the proudest day of our lives. And for people all over the world, I am sure that<!-- "that" was not clearly audible in the transmitted audio, but was clearly spoken in a local recording of the call and appears in the source transcript --> they too join with Americans in recognizing what an immense feat this is. Because of what you have done, the heavens have become a part of man's world. And as you talk to us from the Sea of Tranquility, it inspires us to redouble our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to Earth. For one priceless moment in the whole history of man, all the people on this Earth are truly one: one in their pride in what you have done, and one in our prayers that you will return safely to Earth.{{pb}}
'''Armstrong:''' Thank you, Mr. President. It's a great honor and privilege for us to be here, representing not only the United States, but men of peace of all nations, and with interest and a<!-- sometimes transcribed as "the" --> curiosity, and men with a vision for the future. It's an honor for us to be able to participate here today.
'''Nixon:''' Thank you very much, and I look forward, all of us look forward, to seeing you on the Hornet on Thursday.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/telephone-conversation-with-the-apollo-11-astronauts-the-moon |title=Richard Nixon: Telephone Conversation With the Apollo 11 Astronauts on the Moon |publisher=UC Santa Barbara |work=The American Presidency Project |access-date=October 26, 2018 |archive-date=March 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302083500/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/telephone-conversation-with-the-apollo-11-astronauts-the-moon |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Apollo 11 Astronauts Talk With Richard Nixon From the Surface of the Moon – AT&T Archives |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGKIh3koAI |publisher=AT&T Tech Channel |date=July 20, 2012 |via=YouTube |access-date=December 5, 2020 |archive-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522063525/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGKIh3koAI |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

[[File:Buzz Aldrin's bootprint on the Moon, AS11-40-5877 (21472308758).jpg|thumb|right|Aldrin's bootprint; part of an experiment to test the properties of the lunar [[regolith]]]]

They deployed the [[Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package|EASEP]], which included a [[Passive Seismic Experiment Package]] used to measure [[moonquake]]s and a [[Laser Ranging Retroflector|retroreflector]] array used for the [[lunar laser ranging experiment]].<ref name="EASEP Deployment and Closeout" /> Then Armstrong walked {{convert|196|ft|m}} from the LM to take photographs at the rim of [[Little West (lunar crater)|Little West Crater]]<!-- There is no "East Crater", see https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11EastCraterRIP.html --> while Aldrin collected two [[core sample]]s. He used the [[geologist's hammer]] to pound in the tubes—the only time the hammer was used on Apollo 11—but was unable to penetrate more than {{convert|6|in|cm}} deep. The astronauts then collected rock samples using scoops and tongs on extension handles. Many of the surface activities took longer than expected, so they had to stop documenting sample collection halfway through the allotted 34 minutes. Aldrin shoveled {{convert|6|kg}} of soil into the box of rocks to pack them in tightly.{{sfn|Harland|1999|pp=28–29}} Two types of rocks were found in the geological samples: [[basalt]] and [[breccia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/samples/|title=Lunar Sample Overview|publisher=Lunar and Planetary Institute|access-date=December 28, 2018|archive-date=February 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207041628/https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/samples/|url-status=live}}</ref> Three new minerals were discovered in the rock samples collected by the astronauts: [[armalcolite]], [[tranquillityite]], and [[pyroxferroite]]. Armalcolite was named after Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins. All have subsequently been found on Earth.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120115223636.htm |title=Moon-walk mineral discovered in Western Australia |website=ScienceDaily |author=University of Western Australia |date=January 17, 2012 |access-date=September 24, 2018 |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111215850/http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120115223636.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Apollo 11 plaque closeup on Moon.jpg|right|thumb|[[Lunar plaque|The plaque]] left on the ladder of ''Eagle'']]

While on the surface, Armstrong uncovered a [[lunar plaque|plaque]] mounted on the LM ladder, bearing two drawings of Earth (of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres), an inscription, and signatures of the astronauts and President Nixon. The inscription read:

{{blockquote|Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon July 1969, A. <!-- actual plaque clearly includes a space here -->D. We came in peace for all mankind.<ref name="ALSJ 4" />}}

At the behest of the [[Nixon administration]] to add a reference to God, NASA included the vague date as a reason to include A.D., which stands for [[Anno Domini]] ("in the year of our Lord").{{sfn|Gardner|2017|p=143}}

Mission Control used a coded phrase to warn Armstrong his metabolic rates were high, and that he should slow down. He was moving rapidly from task to task as time ran out. As metabolic rates remained generally lower than expected for both astronauts throughout the walk, Mission Control granted the astronauts a 15-minute extension.<ref name="EASEP Deployment and Closeout">{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.clsout.html |title=EASEP Deployment and Closeout |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Eric M. |date=1995 |work=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=February 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225025455/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.clsout.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In a 2010 interview, Armstrong explained that NASA limited the first moonwalk's time and distance because there was no empirical proof of how much cooling water the astronauts' PLSS backpacks would consume to handle their body heat generation while working on the Moon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.space.com/10469-neil-armstrong-explains-famous-apollo-11-moonwalk.html |title=Neil Armstrong Explains His Famous Apollo 11 Moonwalk |date=December 10, 2010 |publisher=[[Space.com]] |location=New York |access-date=May 25, 2013 |archive-date=August 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802234446/http://www.space.com/10469-neil-armstrong-explains-famous-apollo-11-moonwalk.html |url-status=live }}</ref>