All set for man's first attempt to go to the moon, land there and return to earth the crew of Apollo 11 explain their roles.
US astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins give a news conference ahead of the launch of the Apollo 11 and before being cut off from contact with the outside world. The astronauts set out specific details of their journey to the moon and what exactly will happen once they arrive at their destination.
The three astronauts sat together in one room. The newsmen in another. A wall of glass separated them.
Command pilot for the moon mission Neil Armstrong described the purpose of the moon mission.
Apollo 11 is man's first attempt to demonstrate the ability to go to the moon, to land there and to return to earth.
Neil Armstrong is responsible for making on board decisions when required and to participate in and oversee the duties of all the crew. Specifically, he is responsible for the monitoring of the launch and taking part in the normal duties on the spacecraft in the command module. In the lunar module, he and the lunar module pilot are responsible for the control of the vehicle during the ascent and descent.
Michael Collins will pilot the command module while Armstrong and Aldrin land on the moon's surface. While he will not get to walk on the moon, Collins sees his role as part of the crew as equally important.
Apollo was designed to be a three man job and the third, which I perform, is I think as important, no more so no less so, than the other two positions.
Buzz Aldrin, who will follow Neil Armstrong on to the moon's surface describes what the two man exploration of the moon's surface will involve.
Neil exiting the spacecraft first. As he goes down the ladder I'll be taking pictures of him with a 16 mm camera through the window. A television camera will also be recording his activity.
While on the surface of the moon, Neil Armstrong will collect lunar samples. Buzz Aldrin will assess the capabilities of man to perform tasks on the lunar surface. They will plant a US flag on the surface of the moon and then jointly perform an inspection of the lunar module. The astronauts will take series of panoramic photographs at three different locations and deploy a number of experiments.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 16 July 1969. The reporter is Mike Burns.
