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When Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon for the first time | Wonder what really happened when Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon? Well, here's what he wrote to NPR blogger Robert Krulwich that may quench your
curiosity too. In an article he wrote for 'Krulwich Wonders,' Krulwich pondered why the 1969 Apollo 11 astronauts didn't venture more than 90 yards from the Lunar
Module. And interestingly, NASA astronaut Armstrong responded to Krulwich's blog
by sending him a long email. In the message, Armstrong gave a wonderfully vivid
explanation as to what it was like on the lunar surface and why they were limited
by what they could do. "It is true that we were cautious in our planning. There
were many uncertainties about how well our Lunar module systems and our Pressure
suit and backpack would match the engineering predictions in the hostile lunar
environment," Discovery News quoted Armstrong as writing in the e-mail. To ensure
the Apollo astronauts stayed cool Armstrong said, "We were operating in a near
perfect vacuum with the temperature well above 200 degrees Fahrenheit" -- NASA
had designed a water-cooling system that pumped water around the astronauts' bodies.
But this was the first time it was being used, so there were uncertainties about
its performance." "To verify the cooling system's performance after a lunar walk,
the astronauts got back into the re-pressurized lunar module and "were able to
drain and measure the remaining water in the backpacks to confirm the predicted,"
he pointed out. To minimize any unforeseen incidents, the pair had a strict mission
plan, but that didn't mean Armstrong didn't stray just a little. He wrote, "Preflight
planners wanted us to stay in TV range so that they could learn from our results
how they could best plan for future missions. I candidly admit that I knowingly
and deliberately left the planned working area out of TV coverage to examine and
photograph the interior crater walls for possible bedrock exposure or other useful
information. I felt the potential gain was worth the risk.
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