And Now, You Know

One day last week, July 20, was the 49th anniversary of Apollo 11 Moon Landing. American Astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human being to ever land on the moon. There were 3 Astronauts on that Apollo 11.

 

Neil Armstrong, Commander of Apollo 11

Buzz Aldrin, Lunar Orbit Pilot

Michael Collins, Command Module Pilot

 

The general rule in NASA is if someone was to spacewalk, it was always the junior person. The space commander will stay inside because he has to be safely behind the controls and in a better position to take action if there was an emergency. On Apollo 11, it was Buzz Aldrin who was junior in rank.

 

So it should have been Buzz Aldrin as the first man on the moon. But some mucky mucks in NASA decided to break the protocol. Their reason? The lunar module posed logistical challenges that made this order impossible.

 

There is a rumor that Armstrong pulled rank and made the authorities change the protocol of who should get out of the spacecraft first.

 

After stepping on the moon, Armstrong said: One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.

 

Aldrin set his foot on the moon 20 minutes after Armstrong.

 

Here is what Aldrin said:  It sucks Armstrong was the first man on the moon and I am the second man on the moon.   But I was promised I would be the first one when we land on the sun. (This is my attempted joke.)