We Have Liftoff: When Apollo 11 Left the Lunar Surface

In what way is a moon ascent different than a space shuttle launch?

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

This week marks the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing. We've heard about the trip to the moon, the landing, the first footsteps. But one of the biggest challenges that NASA scientists faced was the liftoff from the lunar surface—something they had never been able to practice. On The Takeaway to talk about the intricacies of lunar liftoffs is Dan Durda, a planetary scientist and "almost" astronaut.

Here is video of the Apollo 17 taking off from the moon.

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