Engineering:Lunar Module Eagle

Short description: Lunar lander used for Apollo 11

Eagle
Part of Apollo 11
Eagle at Tranquility Base, July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong photographs Buzz Aldrin.
Type	Lunar module
Class	Apollo Lunar Module
Named after	Bald eagle
Manufacturer	Grumman
Construction number	LM-5
Technical details
Launch mass	33,294.5 lb (15,102.1 kg)
Landing mass	16,153.2 lb (7,327.0 kg)
Flight history
Launch date	July 16, 1969
Launch site	Kennedy LC-39A
Owners and operators	NASA
Landing date	July 20, 1969
Landing site	Tranquility Base
Total hours	130
Fate	Ascent stage: Unknown; either crashed on the Moon or in lunar orbit Descent stage: Landed at Tranquility Base; still there
Apollo Lunar Modules

Lunar Module Eagle (LM-5) is the spacecraft that served as the crewed lunar lander of Apollo 11, which was the first mission to land humans on the Moon. It was named after the bald eagle, which was featured prominently on the mission insignia. It flew from Earth to lunar orbit on the command module Columbia, and then was flown to the Moon on July 20, 1969, by astronaut Neil Armstrong with navigational assistance from Buzz Aldrin. Eagle's landing created Tranquility Base, named by Armstrong and Aldrin and first announced upon the module's touchdown.

The name of the craft gave rise to the phrase "The Eagle has Landed", the words Armstrong said upon Eagle's touchdown. The phrase was used as the title of a bestselling 1975 book, set during the Second World War, and the 1976 film adaptation.

Flight

Eagle was launched with command module Columbia on July 16, 1969, atop a Saturn V launch vehicle from Launch Complex 39A, and entered Earth orbit 12 minutes later.

Eagle entered lunar orbit on July 19, 1969. On July 20, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin entered into the LM and separated it from Command module Columbia.

Eagle was landed at 20:17:40 UTC on July 20, 1969, with 216 pounds (98 kg) of usable fuel remaining.

After the lunar surface operations, Armstrong and Aldrin returned to the Lunar Module Eagle on July 21, 1969.

At 17:54:00 UTC, they lifted off in Eagle's ascent stage to rejoin Michael Collins aboard Columbia in lunar orbit.

After the crew re-boarded Columbia, the Eagle was abandoned in lunar orbit. Although its ultimate fate remains unknown, some calculations by the physicist James Meador published in 2021 showed that Eagle could theoretically still be in lunar orbit.

Gallery

• 

  Lunar Module Eagle prior to extraction from S-IVB stage on July 16, 1969.

• 

  Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land the Lunar Module Eagle on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

• 

  The plaque left on the ladder of Eagle.

• 

  Ascent stage of Eagle returns to Columbia on July 21, 1969.

• 

  Apollo 11 50th Anniversary commemorative silver dollar depicting Eagle

See also

• List of artificial objects on the Moon
• List of crewed lunar landers

Further reading

• Benson, Charles D.; Faherty, William B. (1978). Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations. Washington, D.C.: NASA. p. 472. SP-4204. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19790003956.pdf. Retrieved September 22, 2018. 
• "Scientific Experiments". https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/apollo-to-the-moon/online/science/scientific-experiments.cfm. 
• "LRO Sees Apollo Landing Sites". NASA. July 17, 2009. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/apollosites.html. 
• Meador, James (2021). "Long-term Orbit Stability of the Apollo 11 "Eagle" Lunar Module Ascent Stage". arXiv:2105.10088 [physics.space-ph].
• Jones, Eric M., ed (1995). "One Small Step". Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal. NASA. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.step.html. 
• Jones, Eric M., ed (1995). "Trying to Rest". Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal. NASA. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.posteva.html. 
• "Location of Apollo Lunar Modules". https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/spacecraft/location/lm.cfm?dom=pscau.