Nearly 37 years ago, on July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 spacecraft successfully transported three American astronauts to the Moon. Few are aware that this flight did not proceed smoothly throughout its journey to land on the Moon and return to Earth. Only recently have the unexpected events been revealed. In fact, there was a moment when the mission almost ended in disaster.
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Some images from the Apollo 11 mission. (Photo: brightbomb.com) | |
The most surprising revelation came after the astronauts completed a two-hour moonwalk, when they discovered that the power switch in the lunar module was malfunctioning. They could very well have been stranded on the Moon forever. In that moment of peril, a ballpoint pen belonging to one of the astronauts saved them from this dire situation…
Apollo 11 experienced a fuel leak…
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The three American astronauts piloted Apollo 11. (Photo: nasa.gov) |
Four hours before liftoff, while the three astronauts were having their last meal before the flight, the Saturn V rocket on the launch pad was experiencing a fuel leak, and technicians had to rush to resolve the issue.
At that time, the rocket contained up to 1 million gallons of liquid hydrogen. The astronauts were completely unaware of the fuel leak. They were informed that if the fuel leaked, ignition would not be possible, and their module would be launched to a safe distance from the rocket.
Edwin Aldrin Jr. recounted: “I felt that our chances of returning could be 99%; we would face many dangers, but there were also many opportunities.“
When officials from NASA reviewed the memo, there was no contingency plan included.
The memo also stated that the launch abort system needed 2 seconds to activate in case of an emergency. If the rocket’s ignition was shut off during the initial phase of the launch, the rocket’s structure would disintegrate in half a second, and the astronauts would not survive! Fortunately, the fuel leak issue was resolved at 1:32 PM, and the spacecraft launched successfully.
Apollo 11 was… chased by a UFO (?!)
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Apollo 11 was… chased by a UFO! (Photo: bethpagecommunity.com) |
Within 48 hours after liftoff, the spacecraft remained safe, with no unexpected incidents. However, on the third day, a strange phenomenon occurred.
Aldrin and Collins believed they saw an unidentified flying object (commonly referred to as a UFO) about 6,000 miles away from the spacecraft, which was consistently following them, but it did not resemble the separated rocket module.
Aldrin noted: “This really made people feel uneasy. There was an object flying outside the spacecraft, close enough to observe, and Collins could see this object through binoculars; it had an L-shape.“
At the same time, a mysterious beam of light appeared inside the spacecraft.
Aldrin recalled: “Suddenly, I saw a beam of light. I was scared and thought that the object might have entered the spacecraft. I asked the other two if they saw anything, and they said they had seen this light trail over 100 times.“
This beam of light caused the astronauts to feel anxious.
In space, where there is no air, any object that could penetrate the spacecraft could cause an accident. Aldrin reported this situation to Mission Control, and the astronauts were informed that these were high-speed heavy particles that could penetrate the spacecraft and even their bodies.
Apollo 11 continued its journey despite being bombarded by these heavy particles.
Strangely, after they woke up, the mysterious object that had been following the spacecraft had vanished.
The computer malfunctioned at a critical moment
After the spacecraft entered lunar orbit, the astronauts began preparing for the most dangerous part of the landing.
The Apollo spacecraft circled at an altitude of 80 miles above the Moon’s surface.
Armstrong and Aldrin entered the lunar module, while Collins remained in the command module. To reduce weight, the walls of the lunar module were designed to be very thin, requiring the astronauts to be extremely careful.
Ginns Kranz, the flight director for Apollo 11, recounted: “If you pressed your finger against the wall, it could puncture through; the thickness of the lunar module’s wall was equivalent to just two layers of thin aluminum.“
Problems arose at a crucial moment when the spacecraft was landing on the Moon; the onboard computer suddenly malfunctioned and continued to display incorrect codes.
According to Aldrin: “No matter how we adjusted it, the computer kept issuing warnings.” It turned out that the landing radar’s data overwhelmed the spacecraft’s computer, providing too much information. Fortunately, they managed to resolve this issue.
Next, another problem arose… a severe fuel shortage for the engines.
The astronauts had to land within 15 seconds, but during previous training, they usually needed at least 10 seconds to complete the descent. The two decided to immediately deploy, shutting off the engines, and the lunar module landed safely. Mission Control on Earth held its breath during this landing.
The landing door jammed, risking eternal stay on the Moon!
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Inspecting the Apollo 11 spacecraft (Photo: northropgrumman.com) |
While the whole world was watching the astronauts’ landing on the Moon via television, a malfunction occurred: The landing module door jammed!
Both astronauts fell into a moment of crisis. Aldrin recounted: “We were not aware that the pressure in the module would drop so drastically. Normally, when we open the valve to adjust the pressure, we wouldn’t need to vent all the air, but this time, we had to vent completely. We wanted to pull the door at the bottom of the module, but we couldn’t get it open.“
As Aldrin attempted to open the door once more, nearing despair, miraculously, the door opened. Armstrong took his historic step onto the Moon.
Fifteen minutes later, Aldrin also exited the lunar module, wanting to check thoroughly to avoid minor yet “deadly” mistakes, ensuring that the module door was not locked to prevent difficulties when returning to the spacecraft.
After two hours of walking on the Moon, the astronauts discovered an object among the dust on the lunar surface – a broken end of a vital electrical switch for the engine’s startup. It turned out that, in the cramped lunar module, the astronaut’s suit had severed an important electrical switch.
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Apollo 11 successfully landed humans on the Moon. (Photo: moleskinerie.com) |
Without the switch, they would have to “rest in peace on the Moon”!
Aldrin found a ballpoint pen in the lunar module and successfully connected the electrical circuit with it, allowing the lunar module to leave the Moon.
To this day, Aldrin keeps the pen that saved his life and that of his teammates carefully stored. This life-saving pen has been kept in a secret document for 30 years, dating back to when President Richard Nixon was very concerned about this mission.
The Americans had even prepared a “eulogy” for the worst-case scenario regarding the astronauts.
In the previously prepared “eulogy,” it was written: “fate has chosen the lunar explorers for peace; they have eternally rested on the Moon.“
And this “backup eulogy” was just moments away from being known to the American people and the world…
Tuyết Nhung (Compiled from Xinhua News Agency)
