Shoot for the Moon: The Space Race and the Extraordinary Voyage of Apollo 11

by James Donovan

Everyone in Mission Control was silent except for Carlton, who called out, “Thirty seconds,” and Duke said, “Thirty seconds,” but Armstrong was coming down and fuel was not a factor for him anymore; if the engine quit, they would just fall to the ground. He figured the compressible landing gear could absorb a fall from thirty or forty feet. “Drifting forward just a little bit—that’s good,” said Aldrin. They were moving left when a blue light flashed on the control panel: LUNAR CONTACT. One of the probes had touched the surface. Aldrin said, “Contact light.” Armstrong said, “Shutdown,” and quickly turned off the engine—the back pressure could cause an explosion. Aldrin said, “Okay. Engine stop.” Neither of them felt the touchdown, but they had stopped moving. Armstrong watched, fascinated, as dust particles continued to race out to the horizon, which appeared surprisingly close, and then disappeared over it. Except for the glycol pumps, it was silent. At 2:17:39 p.m. Houston time, Armstrong and Aldrin grinned at each other and shook hands firmly, then checked to make sure that everything, especially the engine arming control, was off. Duke half collapsed onto his console in relief and said, “We copy you down, Eagle.” “Engine arm is off,” said Armstrong. “Houston, uh…” He waited a couple of seconds, and then with added spirit, he said, “Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”