VOYAGE TO THE MOON

            THE STORY OF APOLLO 11

                by Sean Rong

"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things.  Not because they are easy, but because they are hard."

                                John F. Kennedy

President John F. Kennedy

 Do you want to learn about Apollo 11?  Well, if you don't,  then Do Not Read this book!  But if you do, then read this book! 

The story of Apollo 11 is important because it put the first human beings on the moon.  It happened on July 20, 1969.

All of the astronauts had already been to space at least one time. Their names were Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin.  

                            NEIL ARMSTRONG

Neil Armstrong was the commander of the mission. He was controlling and moving the space ship while Buzz Aldrin was telling him information about how many feet till landing. 

                           His Childhood

During his childhood, Neil's goal was to climb the highest tree in his backyard. But to reach his goal, he needed to be brave and smart. He wanted to climb the tree because he wanted to test if he was brave enough.  He was also obsessed with flying. When he was little,
he made his room and the basement in his house full of airplanes. He always had a dream that if he held his breath, he would be able to float there -- and fly!

When he was fifteen, instead of buying toy airplanes, he decided to save  his money and take flying lessons.

                               During the War

He joined the US Navy during the Korean War and during one of his flights, one of his wings broke off so he he had to eject from the plane.

But he didn't take parachuting lessons, so he had to read the instructions from the seat. Luckily, he safely landed in the water. 

During the war, he flew 75 missions and by the end of the war, he had won many medals.  But he learned from his parents never to brag about it, so he stayed quiet and humble.

                           Dream Comes True

Finally he was old enough to pursue his dream -- of being an astronaut. But to become an astronaut, he had to pass many tests.

 For example, NASA would put you in a room that they would heat up to 145 degrees. Another test he had to pass was having cold water getting shot into his ear. The third test that he needed to pass was going into a dark room with no light and no clock and they wanted him to come out after two hours. So, Neil Armstrong hummed a  song to help him tell time!

The final test he needed to pass was the centrifuge training. That training was pretty hard because you get spun around alot of times until your eyeballs get really flat!

He passed all the tests! Neil Armstrong could finally become an astronaut!

                                Buzz Aldrin

Buzz Aldrin, who was the second man to step on the moon, was born and raised in New Jersey. Before he became an astronaut, he studied astronautics like Neil Armstrong and he joined the Air Force during The Korean War.

Before going to the moon, Buzz Aldrin accomplished 2 missions. 

He retired from NASA and joined the Air Force in  1972. 

Buzz Aldrin

                        Michael Collins

Michael Collins never had a chance to step on the moon. While Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong were walking on the moon,  Michael Collins was on the command module.

But before all that, Michael Collins was chosen to be part of the Third Group of Nasa who would go into space. On one of his missions, he had to do a Space Walk --  which was super scary!

One of Michael Collins' achievements was that he created the insignia for the Apollo 11 mission. The Mission Patch had a picture of the Bald Eagle. The bird was carrying an olive branch, which was a symbol of peace as it was about to land on the moon.

Collins was alone in space for more than a day and one thing he feared could be if Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin could become stuck on the moon.  And they were worried about It too!