Lunar Module ''Eagle'' (LM-5) is the spacecraft that served as the crewed

lunar lander A lunar lander or Moon lander is a spacecraft designed to land on the surface of the Moon. As of 2021, the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have ever been used in human spaceflight, completing six lunar landings from 1969 to 19 ...

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, a ...

, which was the first mission to land humans on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...

. It was named after the

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same nich ...

, 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 Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. ...

with navigational assistance from

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin (; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission. As the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' pilot on the 1969 ...

. ''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 best-selling 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 Saturn V is a retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. The rocket was human-rated, with three stages, and powered with liquid fuel. It was flown from 1 ...

launch vehicle from

Launch Complex 39A Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) is the first of Launch Complex 39's three launch pads, located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida. The pad, along with Launch Complex 39B, were first designed for the Saturn V launch vehicle. T ...

, and entered Earth orbit 12 minutes later. ''Eagle'' entered

lunar orbit In astronomy, lunar orbit (also known as a selenocentric orbit) is the orbit of an object around the Moon. As used in the space program, this refers not to the orbit of the Moon about the Earth, but to orbits by spacecraft around the Moon. T ...

on July 19, 1969. On July 20,

and

entered into the LM and separated it from Command module ''Columbia''. ''Eagle'' was landed at 20:17:40 UTC on July 20, 1969, with 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'' 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

File:Apollo 11 Lunar Module prior to extraction (48322617787).jpg, Lunar Module ''Eagle'' prior to extraction from

S-IVB The S-IVB (pronounced "S-four-B") was the third stage on the Saturn V and second stage on the Saturn IB launch vehicles. Built by the Douglas Aircraft Company, it had one J-2 rocket engine. For lunar missions it was fired twice: first for Earth ...

stage on July 16, 1969. File:AP11 FINAL APPROACH.ogv,

and

land the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on the Moon on July 20, 1969. File:Apollo 11 plaque closeup on Moon.jpg, The plaque left on the ladder of ''Eagle''. File:Apollo 11 Mission Image - View of Moon limb and Lunar Module during ascent, Mare Smythii, Earth on horizon (5052125203).jpg, Ascent stage of ''Eagle'' returns to ''Columbia'' on July 21, 1969.

Flight

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

Further reading