01 / 08 Undocking
20 July 1969 · 100:12:03 GET
Michael watched from Columbia as I turned above the Moon. Neil and Buzz were coming with me. Two stages, two engines, and two very different endings.
First-person interpretation · optional synthetic read-aloud
The hardware behind this memory
One stage could land the crew and support their work. The other could take the cabin back to orbit, leaving the landing equipment behind.
Lunar module
Neil and Buzz travelled inside the upper stage. It had its own engine for the return to orbit.
Why it mattered: The cabin could leave without taking the landing engine, landing legs, and other equipment back up.
Read this component's source ↗Lunar module
The lower stage carried the landing equipment and later served as the ascent stage's launch platform.
Why it mattered: It supported the crew's surface work and departure. This is the part of Eagle left at Tranquility Base.
Read this component's source ↗Lunar module
The steerable S-band antenna helped carry voice, data, and television between Eagle and Earth.
Why it mattered: People far away could follow the crew's work and receive information from the mission.
Read this component's source ↗The original reels
Three archival films, three points of view. Choose a reel and watch the actual mission footage with Video.js.
Archival film
Aboard Columbia · Michael Collins’s view
Columbia’s camera watches Eagle separate and turn for an inspection. The landing gear is already extended. Look for the two triangular cockpit windows and the long contact probes below the footpads.
NASA · Apollo 11 magazine C · Apollo Flight / Lunar Surface Journals
Transcript & source ↗