Lunar Module ''Eagle'' (LM-5) is the spacecraft that served as the crewed

lunar lander A lunar lander or Moon lander is a Lander (spacecraft), spacecraft designed to Moon landing, land on the surface of the Moon. As of 2024, the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have ever been used in human spaceflight, completing s ...

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

, which was the first mission to land humans on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

. It was named after the

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

, which was featured prominently on the mission insignia. It flew from Earth to lunar orbit on the command module ''Columbia'', and then was flown to the Moon on July 20, 1969, by astronaut

Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer who, in 1969, became the Apollo 11#Lunar surface operations, first person to walk on the Moon. He was al ...

with navigational assistance from

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin ( ; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three extravehicular activity, spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the Lunar Module Eag ...

. ''Eagle''s landing created

Tranquility Base Tranquility Base () is the site on the Moon where, in July 1969, humans landed and walked on a celestial body other than Earth for the first time. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 crewmembers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their Apollo Lunar Mo ...

, named by Armstrong and Aldrin and first announced upon the module's touchdown. The name of the craft gave rise to the phrase "The Eagle has landed", the words Armstrong said upon ''Eagle''s touchdown.

Flight

''Eagle'' was launched with Command Module ''Columbia'' on July 16, 1969, atop a

Saturn V The Saturn V is a retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. The rocket was human-rated, had multistage rocket, three stages, and was powered by liquid-propel ...

launch vehicle from

Launch Complex 39A Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) is the first of Launch Complex 39's three launch pads, located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida. The pad, along with Launch Complex 39B, was built in the 1960s to accommodate the Saturn V lau ...

, and entered Earth orbit 12 minutes later. ''Eagle'' entered

lunar orbit In astronomy and spaceflight, a lunar orbit (also known as a selenocentric orbit) is an orbit by an object around Earth's Moon. In general these orbits are not circular. When farthest from the Moon (at apoapsis) a spacecraft is said to be at apo ...

on July 19, 1969. On July 20,

and

entered into the LM and separated it from Command Module ''Columbia''. ''Eagle'' was landed at 20:17:40 UTC on July 20, 1969, with of usable fuel remaining. After the lunar surface operations, Armstrong and Aldrin returned to the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 21, 1969. At 17:54:00 UTC, they lifted off in ''Eagle'' ascent stage to rejoin

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

aboard ''Columbia'' in lunar orbit. After the crew re-boarded ''Columbia'', the ''Eagle'' was abandoned in lunar orbit. The location of its impact on the Moon's surface during an orbit decay is unknown, and there is evidence that ''Eagle'' may still be in orbit.''Discover'' magazine website, July 2021
/ref>

Gallery

File:Apollo 11 Lunar Module prior to extraction (48322617787).jpg, Lunar Module ''Eagle'' prior to extraction from

S-IVB The S-IVB (pronounced "S-four-B") was the third stage on the Saturn V and second stage on the Saturn IB launch vehicles. Built by the Douglas Aircraft Company, it had one J-2 rocket engine. For lunar missions it was fired twice: first for Earth ...

stage on July 16, 1969 File:AP11 FINAL APPROACH.ogv,

and

land the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on the Moon on July 20, 1969. File:Apollo 11 plaque closeup on Moon.jpg, The

plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate, usually fixed to a wall or other vertical surface, meant to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military p ...

left on the ladder of ''Eagle'' File:Apollo 11 50th Anniversary silver dollar reverse.png, Apollo 11 50th Anniversary commemorative silver dollar depicting ''Eagle'' File:Earth, Moon and Lunar Module, AS11-44-6643 c.jpg, Image of ''Eagle'' by

from Command Module ''Columbia''

Flight

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

Further reading