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It took Apollo 11 three days to reach the moon, with
Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin then entering the Lunar Module
and descending to the moon's surface while Michael Collins
remained in the Command Module.
After the successful landing, the planned Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA)
was brought forward, with the astronauts realising they would not
be able to get any sleep.
Video from the moon was received at the Goldstone tracking station
in California, the Honeysuckle Creek tracking station near Canberra,
and the Parkes radio-telescope.
The live telecast first used the signal from California, before
switching to the higher-fidelity picture from Honeysuckle Creek
just before Armstrong stepped onto the moon.
After the moon had risen above the elevation limit of the Parkes telescope,
the telecast used the signal from Parkes for the remainder of the
2 hour, 30 minute EVA.
The image above, of Armstong just having stepped onto the moon,
was taken with a single lens reflex 35mm camera of a slow scan monitor at the
Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station.
This week sees the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and moonwalk celebrated around the world,
including the Honeysuckle Creek tracking station, Canberra, and the Parkes Observatory.
(Image credit: honeysucklecreek.net)
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