Departure from the Moon

After 21.5 hours on the surface, the Eagle's ascent stage lifted off back into lunar orbit. The descent stage, with its commemorative plaque, remained in the Sea of Tranquility — where it still stands today.

The Ascent Propulsion System (APS) engine had no backup — it had to work on the first try, or the crew would have been stranded on the Moon. The burn at 17:54 UTC went smoothly; Aldrin described how the exhaust blast toppled the flag and scattered the experiments' foil. After three and a half hours of maneuvers, the Eagle docked with Columbia.

Armstrong and Aldrin transferred to Collins along with the samples, the ascent stage was jettisoned and later impacted the lunar surface. Shortly after midnight on July 22, Columbia performed the Trans-Earth Injection (TEI) burn and set off on the journey home.

FROM THE FLIGHT TRANSCRIPT"Number one on the runway. We're taking off from the Moon."— Buzz Aldrin, před zážehem APS

RELATED TECHNOLOGY →Lunar Module Eagle CSM Columbia

Vzletový stupeň Eagle stoupá nad Měsícem, Země v pozadí (NASA AS11-44-6642).

◉ REAL PHOTOGRAPHEagle stoupá nad Měsícem, Země v pozadí

KEY CHAPTER DATA

čas na Měsíci celkem21 h 36 min

start z povrchu17:54 UTC

spojení s Columbií21:35 UTC

sources: NASA Apollo 11 Mission Report · Apollo Lunar Surface Journal · NASA Image and Video Library — full list on Apollo Program / Apollo 11

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