"Lunar Module at Tranquility Base" by NASA
During the historic mission to the moon and back, some of the most famous words ever said were transmitted between the Apollo 11 spacecraft and Earth. Between those icons moments was a great deal of chatter—mostly about technical matters but also about how the Earth looked from space, bounding around on the moon, and even sandwiches.
Below is an interactive timeline of every transmission recorded during the mission with some highlights of the most memorable moments. How it was made »
- Earth
- Spacecraft
Fewer words spoken More words spoken.
Hover/tap to see what was said.
Leaving Earth's orbit
Spacecraft: CMP
Jul 16, 1969, 3:09:04pm GMT
Mission: 00:01:37:08
Go ahead, TLI plus 5.
Entering the moon's orbit
Earth: CC
Jul 19, 1969, 5:12:29pm GMT
Mission: 03:03:40:33
Apollo 11, this is Houston. All your systems are looking good going around the corner, and we'll see you on the other side. Over.
First lunar transient seen in person
Spacecraft: CDR
Jul 19, 1969, 6:14:07pm GMT
Mission: 03:04:42:11
And Boothill, Duke Island, Sidewinder, looking at Maskelyne W, that's the yaw round checkpoint, and just coming into the terminator. At the terminator it's ashen and gray. As you get further away from the terminator, it gets to be a lighter gray, and as you get closer to the subsolar point, you can definitely see browns and tans on the ground, according to the last Apollo 11 observation anyway.
Moon landing
Spacecraft: CDR
Jul 20, 1969, 8:18:00pm GMT
Mission: 04:06:46:04
THE EAGLE HAS LANDED.
View from the moon
Spacecraft: LMP
Jul 21, 1969, 3:15:20am GMT
Mission: 04:13:43:24
Magnificent desolation.
Plaque reading
Spacecraft: CDR
Jul 21, 1969, 3:24:36am GMT
Mission: 04:13:52:40
For those who haven't read the plaque, we'll read the plaque that's on the front landing gear of this LM. First there's two hemispheres, one showing each of the two hemispheres of the Earth. Underneath it says "Here Man from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind." It has the crew members' signatures and the signature of the President of the United States.
Final TV broadcast
Spacecraft: CDR
Jul 23, 1969, 11:13:38pm GMT
Mission: 07:09:41:42
The responsibility for this flight lies first with history and with the giants of science who have preceded this effort; next with the American people, who have through their will, indicated their desire; next, to four administrations, and their Congresses, for implementing that will; and then, to the agency and industry teams that built our spacecraft, the Saturn, the Columbia, the Eagle, and the little EMU, the space suit and backpack that was our small spacecraft out on the lunar surface. We would like to give a special thanks to all those Americans who built the spacecraft, who did the construction, design, the tests, and put their - their hearts and all their abilities into those crafts. To those people, tonight, we give a special thank you, and to all the other people that are listening and watching tonight, God bless you. Good night from Apollo 11.
0 min10 min20 min30 min40 min50 min60 min
Flight to the moon
Jul, 17, 1969
Jul, 18, 1969
Jul, 19, 1969
Jul, 20, 1969
On the moon
Jul, 21, 1969
Flight to Earth
Jul, 22, 1969
Jul, 23, 1969
Jul, 24, 1969
0 min10 min20 min30 min40 min50 min60 min
Entering Earth's orbit
Earth: CC
Jul 16, 1969, 1:44:02pm GMT
Mission: 00:00:12:06
Apollo 11, this is Houston. You are confirmed GO for orbit.
Special thanks
Spacecraft: LMP
Jul 20, 1969, 10:57:34pm GMT
Mission: 04:09:25:38
Roger. This is the LM pilot. I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way. Over.
First step on the moon
Spacecraft: CDR
Jul 21, 1969, 2:56:44am GMT
Mission: 04:13:24:48
THAT'S ONE SMALL STEP FOR (A) MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND. And the - the surface is fine and powdery. I can - I can pick it up loosely with my toe. It does adhere in fine layers like powdered charcoal to the sole and sides of my boots. I only go in a small fraction of an inch, maybe an eighth of an inch, but I can see the footprints of my boots and the treads in the fine, sandy particles.
Presidential phone call
Earth: PRESIDENT NIXON
Jul 21, 1969, 3:48:26am GMT
Mission: 04:14:16:30
Neil and Buzz, I am talking to you by telephone from the Oval Room at the White House, and this certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made. I just can't tell you how proud we all are of what you *** for every American. This has to be the proudest day of our lives. And for people all over the world, I am sure they, too, join with Americans in recognizing what an immense feat this is. Because of what you have done, the heavens have become a part of man's world. And as you talk to us from the Sea of Tranquility, it inspires us to redouble our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to Earth. For one priceless moment in the whole history of man, all the people on this Earth are truly one; one in their pride in what you have done, and one in our prayers that you will return safely to Earth.
Liftoff from moon
Spacecraft: LMP
Jul 21, 1969, 5:53:50pm GMT
Mission: 05:04:21:54
9, 8, 7, 6, 5, abort stage, engine arm ascent, proceed.
Re-entry into Earth's atmosphere
Earth: CC
Jul 24, 1969, 4:34:57pm GMT
Mission: 08:03:03:01
And 11, Houston. You're going over the hill there shortly. You're looking mighty fine to us.
Splashdown
Earth: SWIM 1
Jul 24, 1969, 4:50:14pm GMT
Mission: 08:03:18:18
SPLASHDOWN!
Communicators
Spacecraft
- CDR: Commander, Neil A. Armstrong
- CMP: Command module pilot, Michael Collins
- LMP: Lunar module pilot, Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin, Jr.
- SC: Unidentifiable crew member on spacecraft
- MS: Multiple simultaneous speakers
Mission control center
- CC: Capsule commander (CAP COM)
- CT: Communications technician
Other
- HORNET: USS Hornet (recovery)
- MSFN: Manned space flight network
- SWIM 1: Swim team (recovery)
- UNKNOWN: Sound from unidentifiable origin
Transcription notes
A series of three dots (...) is used to designate those portions of the communications that could not be transcribed because of garbling.
One dash (-) is used to indicate a speaker's pause or a self-interruption and subsequent completion of a thought.
Two dashes (- -) are used to indicate an interruption by another speaker or a point at which a recording was terminated abruptly.
Sources
- Apollo 11 - Technical Air-to-Ground Voice Transcription (web page)
- Apollo 11 - Technical Air-to-Ground Voice Transcription (original PDF)
Disclaimer
This project contains material from NASA without copyright, the use of which has not been endorsed by NASA. I am making such material available as part of a curiosity for exploring the Apollo 11 transcript. I do not claim ownership of the transcript.
Posters
Words of Apollo 11
A fun visual of every word spoken during the Apollo 11 mission between earth and the spacecraft traveling to the moon and back.
Press
- Apollo 11 conversations on the way to the moon, March 21, 2018, FlowingData
- Every Conversation That Happened During the First Moon Landing, Visualized, April 9, 2018, Mental Floss
- Best of the visualisation web... March 2018, June 1, 2018, Visualising Data
- Showcase, Longlist, September 22, 2018, Information is Beautiful Awards 2018
