follow. 1. The first crisis the …
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1. The first crisis the lunar explorers faced came just short of moonfall.
The Apollo 11 Lunar Module, code – named ‘eagle’, was still 9.5 km (6
miles) up when the vital guidance computer began flashing an alarm. It was
overloading. Any second it could give up the ghost under the mounting
pressure and nothing the two astronauts could do would save the mission.
Emergencies were nothing new to Commander Neil Armstrong but he and
his co – pilot Buzz Aldrin hadn’t even practised for this one on the ground –
no one believed it could happen. Sweeping feet first towards their target,
they pressed ahead as controllers on Earth waited heart – in – mouth.
Racing against the computer, Eagle slowed and then pitched upright to
stand on its rocket plume and gave Armstrong his first view of the landing
site. The wrong one! They had overshot by four miles into unfamiliar
territory and were heading straight for a football field size crater filled with
boulders “the size of Volkswagens”.
2. With his fuel running out, and only a minute’s flying time left, Armstrong
coolly accelerated the hovering Eagle beyond the crater, touching 88 kph
(55mph). Controllers were puzzled and alarmed by the unplanned
manoeuvres. Mission Director George Hale pleaded silently: “Get it down,
Neil. Get it down.” The seconds ticked away.
3. “Forward, drifting right,” Aldrin said. And then, with less than 20 seconds
left, came the magic word: “Contact!”
4. Armstrong spoke first: “Tranquility base here, the Eagle has landed.” His
words were heard by 600 million people – a fifth of humanity.
5. About six and a half hours later, Eagle’s front door was opened and
Armstrong backed out onto a small porch. He wore a €200,000 moonsuit, a
sort of thermos flask capable of stopping micrometeoroids travelling 30
times faster than a rifle bullet. He carried a backpack which weighed 49 kgs
and enough oxygen for a few hours. Heading down the ladder, Armstrong
unveiled a €200,000 TV camera so the world could witness his first step:
“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” It was 3.56
am, 21 July, 1969.
1.1On the basis of your reading of the passage make notes on it in points
only, using abbreviations wherever necessary. Supply a suitable title.
1.2 Write a summary of the passage in 80 words.
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Anish Thakur 2 years, 8 months ago
2Thank You