ELAPSED TIME 025:00:53, HALFWAY POINT. Kuiper peers back at Earth through the real Apollo 11 hatch!
Thanks again to @stlsciencecenter for allowing Kuiper to check out the @sitesexhibitions#destinationmoonexhibit. Destination Moon, including this hatch, is now on display at @museumofflight in Seattle.
We’re now on day 2 of the mission! After getting a good night’s sleep, our crew receive a morning news report from Earth. Among the highlights is a report (and this is real) that the a member of the UK House of Lords requested assurance that a small American submarine would not pose a threat to the Loch Ness Monster.
Our plans for the day include navigation calculations, a short midcourse correction burn, chores, a few TV broadcasts back to Earth and a LASER EXPERIMENT. In addition, Buzz and Neil will pop over and do their first inspection of the lunar module.
At 025:11:14, Armstrong gets a surprise phone call:
“Jim Lovell: Apollo 11, Houston.
Collins: Go ahead.
Lovell: Is the Commander aboard?
Armstrong: This is the Commander.
Lovell: I was a little worried. This is the backup Commander still standing by. You haven’t given me the word yet. Are you Go?
Armstrong: You’ve lost your chance to take this one, Jim.
Lovell: Okay. I concede.”
A TV broadcast at 034:20 will include a tour of the pantry, Apollo Guidance Computer display, views of Earth, and Buzz Aldrin “demonstrating how easy push-ups are in zero G.” ? (According to Charlie Duke back on Earth, “We couldn’t figure out whether that was a chin-up or a push-up. Just take your choice, I guess.”)
At 035:33, Mission Control will FIRE THE LASER. Duke instructs:
“It’s a blue-green laser that we’re going to flash on and off at a frequency of on for a second, off for a second. It’s coming out of McDonald Observatory near El Paso, which is – should be right on the terminator – or right inside the terminator. We are going to activate that momentarily. Would you please take a look through the telescope and see if you can see it. Over.”
Unfortunately, our crew can’t spot the laser, but stay tuned for more mission updates as they unfold (and check out apolloinrealtime.org! SO ?!)
Original post: https://www.instagram.com/p/B0BYRN3FG3W/