Weekly Online Lesson

Online Lesson Archives

Grade Level: 7-12
Subject: History

The Eagle Has Landed

The Eagle Has Landed On July 16, 1969, three men and a support staff of thousands begin the world’s greatest adventure: an attempt to successfully land a man on the moon and return him safely again to earth. It was the fulfillment of President John F. Kennedy's ambitious decade-long goal for a nation struggling to keep ahead in the space race against the Russians. The mission was Apollo 11.

On July 20, while Michael Collins lingered aboard the Columbia command module in lunar orbit, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin headed for the surface in the lunar lander, known as Eagle. With the fuel supply dwindling, Eagle pilot Neil Armstrong realized that the computerized trajectory was sending them toward a field of boulders. He overrode the computer controls, setting the lander down on the lunar shore with 15 seconds’ worth of fuel to spare. The Eagle had landed.

footprint on the moon What began as a cold war race to control the skies had ended in an unparalleled triumph for mankind. For the first time ever, a man had walked upon the face of a world other than this earth! The 30th anniversary of Apollo 11 is not just a opportunity look back on a great technological feat. It's the last chance we'll have to commemorate the definitive achievement of the century in this century.

This online lesson is the first of a two-part series about Apollo 11 and the moon. The first is a lesson in history, while the second focuses more on technology and lunar studies.

Project Apollo

Saturn V Launch First stop on your lesson this week is Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida. Known as the "Gateway to the Universe," Kennedy Space Center is this historic home of U.S. space pioneering, and continues to be an active space vehicle preparation facility, training center, and launch point. This is where it all began, and where it all happened.

You may want to begin your visit by reading the Welcome of Center Director Roy D. Bridges, Jr. Next go to the Space Flight Historical Archive. Here you will find a great storehouse of historical information on manned and unmanned space travel. The archive is divided into two sections: Space History and Manned Missions. If you want to spend some time setting the stage for Apollo 11, start by reading the NASA Space Act of 1958, which established NASA, and Early Astronauts, a short essay about the selection of America's first astronauts. If you're into chronologies, the Chronology of Aeronautics and Astronautics link contains a list of general Space-related chronologies beginning with the year 1915, as well as some special chronologies like the Lunar Exploration Timeline, 1959-1976, which you should definitely check out.

in orbit around the moon Under the Manned Missions heading, you can read about Project Mercury and Project Gemini; these missions were important milestones in the push to reach the moon. But you must visit the Project Apollo site. Here you can read various topics under the Program Overview heading, such as Apollo Goals, Apollo Spacecraft, and JSC's Apollo Image Directory (there's a bunch!). Back on the Project Apollo site, under the Manned Missions heading, read the Apollo 11 mission highlights, including crew, payload, and objectives.

30th Anniversary Sites

Apollo 11 crew Kennedy Space Center recently added a special site called 30th Anniversary of Apollo 11: 1969-1999. What you'll find here is a brief synopsis of the Apollo 11 story in words and images. When you're done, visit some of these other excellent 30th Anniversary sites:

NASA History Office: Apollo 11 30th Anniversary. This site hosted by NASA's History Office begins with a great animated landing before moving on to the main introduction. From there start with Astronaut Comments, including The First Lunar Landing: As Told By The Astronauts. Next click Biographies and read Apollo 11 Crew Information from the Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal. And don't miss the Documents link, including the Top 10 Scientific Discoveries made during Apollo exploration of the Moon. There's a lot here; explore at will.

Apollo 11 30th Anniversary - Boeing is a short but interesting site by Boeing, the company that built the first stage of the Saturn V launch vehicle. Two interesting features here are What We Did, a great interactive look at the components of Saturn V, and I Worked on Apollo, where Boeing employees reminisce about their involvement in the Apollo project.