October 2nd: Tranquil
B.A. “Contact light.”
N.A. “Shutdown.”
B.A. “Okay. Engine stop”
C.D. “We copy you down, Eagle.”
N.A. “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”
C.D. “Roger, Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We’re breathing again. Thanks a lot.”
This is the transcript of Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Charles Duke on July 20th, 1969. Humanity had landed on the moon. It almost feels paradoxical that one of the most exciting events in the history of mankind happened in a place called “Mare Tranquillitatis”. And definitely, Armstrong was not tranquil, with a heart rate in the 100-150 beats per minute range.
Only a few hours after, he would be the first man to walk on the moon. I could not write it in better words than he did:
N.A. “That’s one small step for [a] man; one giant leap for mankind.”
If you are wondering what’s going on here, look at this post: Inking Science