May 19, 2014 - We Is Down Among ‘Em!

“We Is Down Among ‘Em!” The Apollo 10 mission brought two astronauts to within a hairsbreadth of the Moon’s surface in a rehearsal for the first lunar landing. Launched forty-five years ago this week, Apollo 10 reached the Moon after a three-day journey. Once in lunar orbit, astronauts Gene Cernan and Tom Stafford separated the lunar module Snoopy from the Command / Service Module Charlie Brown, which was piloted by John Young. Snoopy swooped to within 15 km (50,000 ft) of the lunar surface, so close to the ground that Cernan reported, “I’m telling you, we are low. We’re close baby! ... We is down among ‘em!” The successful and dramatic Apollo 10 mission paved the way for Apollo 11’s first lunar landing two months later. One of Snoopy’s thrusters appears in this image of the crater Maskelyne.

Image credit: NASA

Weekly Calendar

May 19-25, 2014

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

Monday 19

Victoria Day (Canada)

1965: Apollo A-003 launched
1996: STS-77 Endeavour launched
2000: STS-101 Atlantis launched

Tuesday 20

1978: Pioneer-Venus 1 launched
1995: Spektr module launched to Mir space station

Wednesday 21

Last Qtr Moon 8:59 AM ET
Mars appears stationary

2010: IKAROS spacecraft launched; first successful solar-sail propulsion

Thursday 22

Neptune 5° south of Moon

1969: Apollo 10 lunar module descends to within 50,000 feet of the lunar surface
2012: Dragon C2+ spacecraft launched, first commercial mission to dock with ISS