Lunar Module Eagle

• 1. Introduction

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  Lunar Module Eagle, designated LM-5, arrived at the surface of the Moon with only 216 pounds of usable fuel left in its tanks. That margin meant the difference between a successful landing and an aborted approach. Eagle was the first crewed vehicle to carry humans to the surface of another world, part of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission. Some of what happened during that mission is recorded to the exact second. One question about Eagle's ultimate fate has no definitive answer even now.

• 2. Saturn V from 39A

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  Eagle launched alongside Command Module Columbia on the 16th of July, 1969, atop a Saturn V rocket from Launch Complex 39A. Just 12 minutes after liftoff, the combined spacecraft had reached Earth orbit. Three days later, on the 19th of July, Eagle and Columbia entered lunar orbit. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin boarded the lunar module on July 20 and separated it from Columbia. Armstrong piloted the descent, with Aldrin handling navigation. Michael Collins remained with Columbia above. The landing site they were headed for would receive its name only at the moment of touchdown.

• 3. Tranquility Base

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  At 20:17:40 UTC on the 20th of July, 1969, Eagle touched down on the lunar surface. Armstrong and Aldrin gave their landing site a name at the moment the craft was still. They announced Tranquility Base to the world for the first time. Armstrong drew on the spacecraft's own name for his report to mission control. The craft had taken its name from the bald eagle shown prominently on the Apollo 11 mission insignia. "The Eagle has landed," Armstrong said. Those four words took on a life well beyond the mission itself. The mission still required a second critical maneuver: Eagle's ascent stage had to carry the two astronauts back to lunar orbit.

• 4. Reunion and Abandonment

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  Armstrong and Aldrin returned to Eagle on the 21st of July, 1969. At 17:54:00 UTC, the ascent stage fired and lifted them off the lunar surface. Their target was lunar orbit, where Michael Collins had been circling alone aboard Columbia. After docking and re-boarding Columbia, the crew left Eagle's ascent stage behind. The abandoned stage remained in an orbit that would eventually decay.

• 5. An Orbit Without End

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  Research into Eagle's likely orbital path, published as recently as 2021, suggests the spacecraft may still be circling the Moon. No confirmed impact location on the lunar surface has ever been found. Eagle lifted off from Launch Complex 39A in July 1969 and may never have come down.