Tranquility Base

Tranquility Base ( ) is the site on the Moon where, in July 1969, American NASA astronauts landed and walked on a celestial body other than Earth for the first time. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 crewmembers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their Apollo Lunar Module Eagle at approximately 20:17:40 UTC. Armstrong exited the spacecraft six hours and 39 minutes after touchdown, followed 19 minutes later by Aldrin. The astronauts spent two hours and 31 minutes examining and photographing the lunar surface, setting up several scientific experiment packages, and collecting of dirt and rock samples for return to Earth. They lifted off the surface on July 21 at 17:54 UTC. The two named the base, which Armstrong announced when the Lunar Module Eagle landed. It is located in the south-western corner of the dark lunar plain Mare Tranquillitatis ("Sea of Tranquility"). Due to involvement of facilities within the U.S.…

Tranquility Base ( ) is the site on the Moon where, in July 1969, American NASA astronauts landed and walked on a celestial body other than Earth for the first time. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 crewmembers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their Apollo Lunar Module Eagle at approximately 20:17:40 UTC. Armstrong exited the spacecraft six hours and 39 minutes after touchdown, followed 19 minutes later by Aldrin. The astronauts spent two hours and 31 minutes examining and photographing the lunar surface, setting up several scientific experiment packages, and collecting of dirt and rock samples for return to Earth. They lifted off the surface on July 21 at 17:54 UTC. The two named the base, which Armstrong announced when the Lunar Module Eagle landed. It is located in the south-western corner of the dark lunar plain Mare Tranquillitatis ("Sea of Tranquility"). Due to involvement of facilities within the U.S. states of California and New Mexico with the Apollo program, the relevant government bodies in these states have registered Tranquility Base as a historic site associated with the heritage of the respective state: California's State Historical Resources Commission in the California Register of Historical Resources , and the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs in the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties site #1946 . However, Texas, the U.S. National Park Service, and UNESCO have declined to do so, citing the procedural technicality that it is not located within their borders, which, according to common convention, do not extend thousands of miles beyond the Earth's surface. Apollo 11 landing site 5076 med.jpg|Lunar Orbiter 5 image from 1967, cropped to show the vicinity of the landing site of Apollo 11, used in mission planning. The image is centered precisely on a small crater called West crater (190 m in diameter), and the Lunar Module Eagle touched down about 550 m west of West Crater. The area shown is approximately 25 km × 25 km across. Apollo 11 landing site 5076 h3.jpg|High-resolution Lunar Orbiter 5 image cropped to show the landing site of Apollo 11. The landing site is indicated by a red dot. The prominent crater at right is called West crater and is about 190 m in diameter. Apollo11-LRO-March2012.jpg|Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photo taken March 7, 2012. The Lunar Module descent stage, Laser Ranging RetroReflector, and Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package can be clearly seen. The craters Little West (at right) and Double (left of LM) are also shown. Buzz Aldrin's bootprint on the Moon, AS11-40-5877.jpg | Buzz Aldrin's footprint at Tranquility Base (photograph by Aldrin) Double aldrin huggin stich2.jpg|Composite image of Double crater, a few meters from Eagle. Photos by Aldrin. Little west Crater composite.jpg|Composite image of Little West Crater, app. 60 meters from Eagle. Photos by Armstrong. Apollo 15 Hasselblad image from film magazine 97 O - lunar orbit view.jpg|Orbital photo from Apollo 15 showing the landing site just below center. The bright crater is Moltke. Surface panorama of landing site (by Armstrong), Lunar and Planetary Institute USGS Planetary Gazetteer Entry Photo Number IV-085-H1, Digital Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon, showing the Apollo 11 landing site and vicinity

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