APOLLO 11 #6 - 20 juillet 1969

Video from the channel Closer To Space about Apollo 11, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 17:18. Language: French. Video type: Documentary.

Sixth episode of a French educational series about Apollo 11, narrated in the first person from the point of view of the lunar module Eagle. It covers the day of July 20, 1969, from the crew's wake-up to the first night on the Moon.

Houston briefs the crew on the day's news, including the Chinese legend of Chang'e and her rabbit. After separating the two spacecraft's electrical power, the Eagle undocks from the Columbia, where Michael Collins stays. The maneuver that lowers the orbit is performed on the far side. The powered descent begins at about 47,000 feet; an alarm forces a decision on whether to abort, but it is ultimately ignored and the Eagle lands. The depressurization takes longer than expected; Armstrong climbs down the ladder and takes the first step, and Aldrin follows about 15 minutes later.

The video describes regolith as a dust that sticks to everything. It also shows the commemorative plaque fixed to one of the module's legs, the solar wind composition experiment, the flag, Aldrin's mobility tests, and the call with Richard Nixon. The astronauts install a seismometer and a laser reflector, Aldrin collects a sample with a tube, and Armstrong photographs the crater he had to avoid while landing. After about two and a half hours outside, they remove their suits, eat, and sleep for the first time on the Moon.