Πριν από 50 χρόνια, τρεις άντρες – οι αστροναύτες Νιλ Άρμστρονγκ, Μπαζ Όλντριν και Μάικλ Κόλινς – μπήκαν σε έναν θαλαμίσκο, στην κορυφή ενός ύψους 122 μέτρων πυραύλου, για να διανύσουν μέσα στο κενό 384.472,282 χιλιόμετρα, να φτάσουν σε έναν χέρσο και χωρίς ατμόσφαιρα βράχο, τη Σελήνη, και να γυρίσουν πίσω στη Γη.

Ήξεραν ότι μπορεί να μην τα κατάφερναν, μόλις πριν δύο χρόνια σε δοκιμή εκτόξευσης του Apollo 1 ο θάλαμος είχε πάρει φωτιά σκοτώνοντας όλο το πλήρωμα. Οι τρεις αστροναύτες  έπρεπε να μεριμνήσουν για τις οικογένειές τους σε περίπτωση που συνέβαινε το χειρότερο.

Το ανύπαρκτο ασφαλιστικό πρόγραμμα και το εναλλακτικό σχέδιο

Και μιας και το ασφαλιστικό πρόγραμμα της NASA εκείνη την εποχή δεν κάλυπτε τους αστροναύτες εν πτήσει, οι Άρμστρονγκ, Όλντριν και Κόλινς αποφάσισαν να δράσουν με έναν απολύτως αμερικανικό τρόπο: να κεφαλαιοποιήσουν τη φήμη τους.

Τις εβδομάδες πριν την εκτόξευση του Apollo 11, όπως αναφέρει το ΑΠΕ, οι τρεις τους κάθισαν και υπέγραψαν εκατοντάδες φακέλους επιστολών, κάθε ένας των οποίων έφερε σχέδιο που μνημόνευε την αποστολή και με γραμματόσημο που είχε εκδοθεί για προηγούμενη αποστολή Apollo. Οι φάκελοι θα σφραγίζονταν στο ταχυδρομείο την ημέρα της εκτόξευσης ή την ημέρα της προσελήνωσης.

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LRV, instead of SUV. With the Lunar Roving Vehicle, NASA astronauts David Scott and James Irwin cruise the surface of the moon in the summer of 1971, two years after the first manned moon landing. On the Apollo 15 mission, humans are returning – also with the help of SCHOTT: Two television cameras with twelve color filters by SCHOTT installed transmit brilliant color images from the lunar joyride to the earth. By the way: Can you tell us where the LRV is? #Apollo50th #apollo #apollo11 #apollo50 #NASA #Space #Moon #MoonSCHOTTs @nasa @nasaastronauts @Apollo11

A post shared by SCHOTT (@schott_ag) on Jul 26, 2019 at 1:05am PDT

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#man on the #moon 🚀🌖🛰 #apollo11 July 1969 #tribute #exhibition #paris #legrandpalais #exposition le premier homme sur la #lune #hommage #astronaute #apollo #astronaut #apollo11anniversary #parisianlife #parisian #parisianlifestyle

A post shared by Jérôme Monange (@jeromemonange) on Jul 26, 2019 at 1:47am PDT

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First #man on the #moon 🚀🌖🛰 #apollo11 July 1969 #tribute #exhibition #paris #legrandpalais #exposition le premier homme sur la #lune #hommage #astronaut #astronaute #apollo #apollo11anniversary #parisianlife #parisian #parisianlifestyle

A post shared by Jérôme Monange (@jeromemonange) on Jul 26, 2019 at 1:51am PDT

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Por que há tantos lunamotos? ("Terremotos lunares") – Análises de sismógrafos deixados na Lua pelos desembarques da Apollo revelam um número surpreendente de lunamotos ocorrendo em uma extensão de 100 quilômetros na superfície. – De fato, 62 lunamotos foram detectados em dados registrados entre 1972 e 1977. – Muitos desses lunamotos não são fortes o suficiente para mover móveis em um apartamento lunar, mas a rocha dura da lua continua a vibrar por muitos minutos, significativamente mais duradouro do que qualquer abalo sísmico registrado na Terra. A causa dos lunamotos ainda é desconhecida, mas uma das principais hipóteses é o colapso das falhas subterrâneas. – As futuras habitações lunares precisaram ser construídas para resistir aos frequentes tremores. – Na imagem nós podemos ver o astronauta Buzz Aldrin da Apollo 11 ao lado de um sismógrafo. – Recomendação de leitura: "Missão Apollo – A incrível história da corrida à lua." – Créditos: Nasa – #lua #moon #space #ciencia #science #nasa #apollo #apollo11 #astronomia #astronomy

A post shared by Astronomia e Ciência (@astronomiaeciencia) on Jul 25, 2019 at 3:44am PDT

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#MoonSurface as seen by #Apollo11 astronauts 50 years ago. The largest of the #LunarCraters seen in this 📷 is Dedal – 93km in diameter & 3km in depth. #NeilArmstrong #BuzzAldrin #MichaelCollins #LunarSurface #LunarCrater #Moon #MoonExploration #LunarExploration #SpacePhoto #SpacePhotography #SpaceExploration #TheMoon #spaceflight #space #SpaceHistory #HistoricMoments #historic #history #NASA #Apollo #Apollo50th @nasa @drbuzzaldrin If you like our content – FOLLOW & on our profile tap Following -> Notifications -> Posts / Stories.

A post shared by human Mars (@human.mars) on Jul 23, 2019 at 5:40am PDT

Θα γίνονταν τα τέλεια συλλεκτικά αντικείμενα και οι οικογένειές τους θα μπορούσαν να πωλήσουν αυτούς τους «insurance covers» όπως επικράτησε να λέγονται, για να επιβιώσουν, στην περίπτωση που κάτι πήγαινε στραβά…

«Μιας και δεν μπορούσαμε να έχουμε ικανοποιητική ασφάλεια ζωής , λόγω του υψηλού ρίσκου ενός αστροναύτη, υπογράψαμε αυτούς τους φακέλους και τους μοιράσαμε δίκαια στις οικογένειές μας να τους φυλάξουν ενώ εμείς εκτελούσαμε την αποστολή μας» έγραψε ο Μπαζ Όλντριν στο πιστοποιητικό γνησιότητας που συνοδεύει τους δικούς του φακέλους.

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Apollo 11 astronauts, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and Neil Armstrong in 1969 📷 @life The incredible documentary APOLLO 11 screens throughout the week. Showtimes on www.palas.ie . . #apollo11 #neilarmstrong #moonlanding #galway #palasgalway #galwaycinema #galwaycity #cinematography #nasa #films #filmfeed #ireland

A post shared by Pálás Cinema (@palascinema) on Jul 25, 2019 at 2:21pm PDT

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50 years ago today: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in the mobile quarantine facility, photographed by Michael Collins . After their return from the moon on July 24, the astronauts were kept in quarantine for 21 days, as a precaution against importing potentially harmful lunar organisms . #apollo11 #apollo11anniversary #apollo50 #neilarmstrong #buzzaldrin #michaelcollins #exobiology #quarantine #infectiousdisease #virus #outbreak #lifeonthemoon #patientzero #quarantinestation #mqf #moonbug

A post shared by Simon Stahli (@simonstahli) on Jul 25, 2019 at 2:38pm PDT

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0W16_PoAX5/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Η συλλογή γραμματοσήμων ήταν πολύ δημοφιλές χόμπι εκείνα τα χρόνια και οι αστροναύτες είχαν δημιουργήσει φιλικές σχέσεις με μια ομάδα φιλοτελιστών από το Χιούστον, οι οποίοι τύπωναν φακέλους προς τιμή του διαστημικού προγράμματος της NASA.

Αυτοί οι φιλοτελιστές, είχαν σχεδιάσει κάποιους από τους φακέλους για την αποστολή Apollo 11, τους οποίους οι Άρμστρονγκ, Όλντριν και Κόλινς υπέγραψαν στη διάρκεια των εβδομάδων που ήταν σε καραντίνα πριν την εκτόξευση. Και ένας αστροναύτης που δεν συμμετείχε στην αποστολή τούς πήγε στο ταχυδρομείο στο Χιούστον για σφραγίδα.

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"Not because it is easy, but, because it is hard" -JFK Last Saturday was the 50th anniversary of the first men to land on the moon. Apollo 11. While this may seem like just another anniversary of some event in history, this one stands out. Kennedy gave the country till the end of the decade to put men on the surface of the moon. Nothing like that had ever been attempted. No one knew how to do it. Unfortunately, due to that infamous day, he did not see it through, however, the nations resolve to see his dream materialize only strengthened. On July 16th, 1969, 3 men strapped themselves on the biggest missile ever created, its payload, Buzz, Neil, and Collins. They rode that Saturn V rocket into our orbit and they were off, to where no human has ever set foot before. For the next several days, the were alone, isolated by hundreds of thousands of miles from all of humanity. July 20th, 1969, 240,000 miles above the earth, they start their descent to the surface of the Earth's first satelite. Neil flew them down to the surface so delicately that the lander arms did not compress as much as the should have and that small step was a decent jump. At this moment he and Buzz were the only two of mankind on this celestial body but were joined by the 60 Million people watching back home. This is one of the most important anniversaries of all mankind. . . . . . #nasa #spacex #moon #armstrong #apollo #apollo11 #saturnv #kennedy #jfk #commandmodule #rocketscience

A post shared by Connor (@connoroving) on Jul 25, 2019 at 5:39pm PDT

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JoAnn Morgan, Ay yüzeyine yapılan insanlı ilk uzay uçuşu Apollo 11 gerçekleştirilirken Kennedy Uzay Merkezi'ndeki ateşleme odasında bulunmasına izin verilen tek kadın mühendisti. Tamamı erkeklerden oluşan ekibin içinde dikkati çeken Morgan, insanın Ay'a adım attığı o tarihi günde 28 yaşındaydı. Genç mühendis, kadınlar tuvaletinin bile olmadığı bir ortamda, zaman zaman gelen taciz telefonlarına aldırış etmeden kariyerine devam ederek, yıllar sonra Kennedy Uzay Merkezi'nde çalışan ilk üst düzey kadın yönetici oldu. #apollo11 #toplumsalcinsiyeteşitliği

A post shared by YANINDAYIZ DERNEĞİ (@yanindayizdernegi) on Jul 25, 2019 at 11:50pm PDT

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The Apollo 11 crew was isolated from contact with other people to prevent the unlikely spread of "Moon germs." They spent the first 88 hours of their quarantine in the Mobile Quarantine Facility, a converted Airstream trailer a little over 300 square feet. They even had to greet President Richard Nixon through a glass window at the back of the MQF. The astronauts remained in the Mobile Quarantine Facility until it reached Johnson Space Center and they entered a larger quarantine area. You can see the #Apollo11 MQF on display at our Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia. #Apollo50

A post shared by National Air and Space Museum (@airandspacemuseum) on Jul 24, 2019 at 12:26pm PDT