Click unmute on the video above hear mission audio from Flight Day 7 of the Apollo 11 mission and listen to over 50 minutes of audio in the video from NASA below.
This summer marks the 50th anniversary of NASA’s Apollo 11 mission. Fifty years ago today (July 22), the Apollo 11 crew corrected course, fired their engines, and pushed off towards Earth. Here’s how it happened.
Just two days after landing on the moon, it was time for the Apollo 11 crew to make the journey back to Earth. Their lunar module, Eagle, was now jettisoned and the three men were inside their command module, Columbia, preparing to turn on the engines to head back home.
At 12:56 a.m. EDT, the crew did the "transearth injection burn" to bring them to a speed of roughly 3,600 miles per hour (5,850 km/hr). This maneuver put Neil Armstrong (commander), Michael Collins (command module pilot) and Buzz Aldrin (lunar module pilot) on a path back to Earth.
The Apollo 11 crew went to sleep at 4:30 a.m. EDT with their spacecraft coasting away from the moon, monitored by controllers in Houston at Mission Control. Their sleep period lasted until about 1 p.m. EDT, shortly before the spacecraft passed the spot where Earth's gravity took over from that of the moon. That location was about 38,900 miles (63,000 kilometers) from the moon and 200,000 miles (322,250 kilometers) from Earth.
A crescent Earth hangs in the black of space in this amazing photo captured by Apollo 11 astronauts during NASA's historic first manned moon landing between July 16 and 24 in 1969. (Image credit: NASA)
While examining the trajectory of Columbia in Mission Control, the team determined it was best for the astronauts to do a midcourse correction to bring them on the correct path to Earth. The astronauts fired Columbia's engines at 4:02 p.m. to readjust the flight. Five hours later, the crew did a short television broadcast to Earth, lasting about 18 minutes.
Get the Space.com Newsletter
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
Editor's note: This feature, originally posted in 2014, has been updated for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. Space.com contributor Chelsea Gohd contributed to this report.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
Sapientia Aedificavit Sibi Domum. Es decir, "la sabiduría ha edificado aquí su casa". Resulta curioso que la misma frase aparece en el Evangelio de María Magdalena, un texto apócrifo. Se dice que en el interior de esta iglesia y de otras muchas de Venecia está escondido el tesoro de los templarios. Pero no hay ninguna prueba de ello. Para terminar ya con esta entrada me gustaría que nos acercásemos un momento a uno de los edificios más emblemáticos de Venecia: el Palacio Ducal.
Sapientia Aedificavit Sibi Domum. Es decir, "la sabiduría ha edificado aquí su casa". Resulta curioso que la misma frase aparece en el Evangelio de María Magdalena, un texto apócrifo. Se dice que en el interior de esta iglesia y de otras muchas de Venecia está escondido el tesoro de los templarios. Pero no hay ninguna prueba de ello. Para terminar ya con esta entrada me gustaría que nos acercásemos un momento a uno de los edificios más emblemáticos de Venecia: el Palacio Ducal.
There are claims that the line perfectly aligns with the sunset on the day of the Northern Hemisphere’s Summer Solstice[5] (however, sunrise/sunset maps show this to be incorrect [6]).
As with other ley lines, no scientific evidence indicates that the alignment was planned and meaningful, making the claim pseudoscientific, but commonly reported at these sites. Physicist Luca Amendola noted that the deviation of these sites from the loxodrome that allegedly connects them ranges between 14 km and 42 km.[4]
According to legend, the Sacred Line of Saint Michael represents the blow the Saint inflicted upon the Devil when he cast him into Hell, as per the story of the Fall of Satan.[7]
Some also say that it is a reminder from Saint Michael that the faithful are expected to be righteous, walking the straight path.[8]
The building is also known as the Royal Palace, the City Palace,[1] or locally by the Greek name Palaia Anaktora (Παλαιά Ανάκτορα; literally "Old Palace").
After the union of Corfu with the Kingdom of Greece in 1864, the palace served as a royal residence; up to 1967, the Greek king occasionally used the palace on state occasions while in residence at his nearby villa, Mon Repos.
Today the palace houses the Museum of Asian art of Corfu. The collection of the museum started in 1927 and consists mostly of donations, the largest being from Gregorios Manos with 10,500 pieces.
The two gateways which flank the palace are the gate of St. Michael and the gate of St. George. The state rooms consist of a grand staircase, a rotunda in the centre leading to two large rooms, the Throne Room and the state dining room. The palace was renovated for the European Union Summit meeting in 1994.
The palace gardens, complete with old Venetian stone aquariums, exotic trees and flowers, overlook the bay through old Venetian fortifications and turrets. The local sea baths are at the foot of the fortifications surrounding the gardens. A café on the grounds includes its own art gallery, with exhibitions of both local and international artists. It is locally known as the Art Café. From the same spot, the viewer can observe ships passing through the narrow channel of the historic Vido island (Βίδο Κέρκυρας) to the north, on their way to Corfu harbour (Νέο Λιμάνι), with high speed retractable aerofoil ferries from Igoumenitsa cutting across the panorama. A wrought-iron aerial staircase is also to be found, closed to garden visitors, descending to the sea from the gardens, and formerly used by the Greek royal family as a shortcut to the baths. Following the end of the Greek monarchy, the old Royal Gardens are now known as the "Garden of the People" (Ο Κήπος του Λαού).
The Holy Archangel Michael is one of the most celebrated of the Angels and bodiless powers; he is called the Archistrategos, or chief commander, of all the bodiless powers. According to Holy Scripture and Tradition, he has interceded for humanity multiple times and continues to serve as the Defender of the Faith The name Michael means "like unto God" or "Who is like unto God?"
Michael first appears in the Old Testament in the book of Joshua's account of the fall of Jericho. Though Michael is not mentioned by name in the text, it is said that Joshua "looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand." When the still unaware Joshua asks which side of the fight the Archangel is on, Michael responds, "neither...but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come" (Joshua 5:13-14).
In the book of Daniel, Michael appears first to help the Archangel Gabriel defeat the Persians (10:13). In a later vision it is revealed to Daniel that "at that time [the end times] Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then..." (Ch. 12)1. Michael thus plays an important role as the protector of Israel and later of his chosen people, the Church.
The Church Fathers also ascribe to Michael the following events: During the Exodus of the Israelite from Egypt he went before them in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night; the power of the great Chief Commander of God was manifest in the annihilation of the 185 thousand soldiers of the Assyrian emperor Sennacherib (4/2 Kings 19:35); also in the smiting of the impious leader Heliodorus (2 Macc. 3: 24-26); and in the protection of the Three Holy Youths: Ananias, Azarias and Misail, thrown into the fiery furnace for their refusal to worship an idol (Dan 3:22-25). Through the will of God, the Chief Commander Michael transported the Prophet Habbakuk (December 2) from Judea to Babylon, to give food to Daniel in the lions' den (Dan. 14:33-37). The Archangel Michael disputed with the devil over the body of the holy Prophet Moses (Jude 1:9).
In New Testament times, the holy Archangel Michael showed his power when he miraculously saved a young man, cast into the sea by robbers with a stone about his neck on the shores of Mt Athos. This story is found in the Athonite Paterikon, and in the Life of St Neophytus of Docheiariou (November 9). Perhaps his most famous miracle, though, is the salvation of the church at Colossae. Here a number of pagans tried to destroy this church by diverting the flow of two rivers directly into its path. However, the Archangel appeared amongst the waters, and, carrying a cross, channeled the rivers underground so that the ground the church stood on would not be destroyed. The spring which came forth after this event is said to have special healing powers.
Michael also has been associated with healing in other cases, as well as his primary role as leader of the Church Militant. He has been said to appear to Emperor Constantine the Great (d. 337) at Constantinople, to have intervened in assorted battles, and appeared, sword in hand, over the mausoleum of Hadrian, in apparent answer to the prayers of Pope St. Gregory I the Great (r. 590-604) that a plague in Rome should cease. Russians in particular have a special veneration to Michael, along with the Theotokos. According to OCA, "Intercession for Russian cities by the Most Holy Queen of Heaven always involved Her appearances with the Heavenly Hosts, under the leadership of the Archangel Michael. Grateful Rus acclaimed the Most Pure Mother of God and the Archangel Michael in church hymns. Many monasteries, cathedrals, court and merchant churches are dedicated to the Chief Commander Michael. In Rus there was not a city where there was not a church or chapel dedicated to the Archangel Michael."
The Holy Archangel Michael Iconography
The angelic hosts have to defend the creation against the spiritual powers which seek to cast it into ruin. The Apocalypse shows us the celestial war was, which Michael and his angels fight against the dragon and his angels (Rev 12:7-9), a war which continues on earth in the spiritual combats in which men are assisted by angels. Hence the warrior like character that angelic apparitions often take. Thus, the "captain of the Lord" appeared to Joshua with a sword in his hand (Joshua 5:13-15). the Archangel Michael "chief captain of the host" (Archistrategos) presides over the struggle against the forces of the demons: "there where thy grace appears, the power of the demons is pursued; for the fallen Lucifer cannot bear to see thy light. We pray thee then to extinguish his burning features, directed against us... and to free us from his temptations. The icon shown here (Balkan, ca. 1600) is of the Archangel Michael. In his quality of Captain of the Hosts, the warrior angel wears a cloak which, on our icon , is red in color. The sword that he holds in his right hand is at the same time his weapon and the insignia of commander. In his left hand he carries before his breast an image of Jesus Christ. The head of the archangel is adorned with ribbons. Habitually, the ends of he ribbons flow from either side of the head: they should symbolize the spiritual hearing of the angel, attentive to the divine commands. On our icon these ribbons are partly effaced. The inscription at the top reads: "Archangel Michael." From Meaning of Icons by Lossky, Palmer, and Kadloubousky
There are several icons of the Archangel Michael that he has personally intervened miraculously to the "authoring" of his image;
Mantamados Icon Archangel Michael of Mantamados (Gr. O Μανταμάδος) refers to a miraculous icon of the Archangel Michael on the island of Lesvos. The monastery is known locally as Taxiarches (the "Archangel"). There are two accounts surrounding the date of this icon, one having to do with the Ottoman Turkish occupation and destruction of 1462, and the other with Saracen pirates during the 9th and 10th centuries during which the entire island was invaded. In either case, the story of the creation of the icon shares the theme that the target of the raids was the monastery of the Taxiarchis. The pirates threatened the monks with death if they would not reveal the whereabouts of the hidden villagers. The monks refused and the invaders slaughtered all of the monks except for one novice-monk. As the pirates where leaving, the novice climbed to the roof of the monastery to be sure that the pirates had left. However, the pirates noticed him from afar and returned to kill him as well. It is at this point in the story that the Archangel Michael makes his appearance in front of the Saracens with his own sword drawn forcing them to retreat in terror. Thanks to this miracle from the Archangel the monk survived and descending to the courtyard buried the bodies of his fellow brotherhood. The monk still in deep respect and reverence for having witnessed the Archangel Michael in all his fury, gathered up the earth that was red by the blood of the martyred monks and shaped it into the icon-sculpture of the Archangel as it is today; while it was still vivid in his memory. According to legend, the monk did not have enough of this dirt-blood mix and so the head of the Archangel has turned out disproportionately larger to the rest of his body. This icon, is now kept within the interior of the church. Many islanders claim to have had personal experiences of miracles being granted for them by Mantamados. This defies the traditional structure of iconography. His upper-torso is represented as a three-dimensional image mixed with dirt and blood of martyrs and he is a warrior. His face is alive and he will mirror the condition of your soul by the expression on his face.
Panormitis Icon Symi island of the Dodecanese, Greece, is situated in southeast Aegean sea and northwest of Rhodes. While touring around the island you will see many churches and monasteries devoted to the Archangel Michael. The Greek Orthodox Monastery of Taxiarchis Mihail Panormitis is the most important on the island and second largest in the Dodecanese. In the church is the famous icon of the Archangel Michael Panormitis, who is not only considered the island's patron saint but also the guardian of sailors in the entire Dodecanese area. One story is that this icon appeared miraculously and, on several occasions, was removed only to reappear mysteriously in this same location. The church was then built over the location, which, other sources suggest, was also a template to Apollo.
In Russian iconography he is most likely to be wearing red. In many instances, Michael tramples the devil under his feet, which may be depicted as a dragon. This comes from the tradition that Michael was the main opponent of Satan in the battle for Heaven. Satan, previously called Samael, was always looking to discredit Israel, while Michael was its main protector. In the end, Satan attempted to drag Michael down in his fall from the heights, but Michael was rescued by God.
Troparion (Tone 4) [1] Commanders of the heavenly hosts, we who are unworthy beseech you, by your prayers encompass us beneath the wings of your immaterial glory, and faithfully preserve us who fall down and cry to you: "Deliver us from all harm, for you are the commanders of the powers on high!"
Kontakion (Tone 2) [2] Commanders of God's armies and ministers of the divine glory, princes of the bodiless angels and guides of mankind, ask for what is good for us, and for great mercy, supreme commanders of the Bodiless Hosts.