Over 30 students of Dikshant International School interacted with Neil Armstrong, as part of a NASA educational programme to mark the 40th anniversary of the landing of the Apollo 11 mission on the moon on Friday.

The students put forth their questions through the NASA Digital Learning Network, by means of live video conferencing from the school’s media centre.

In a reply to one of the questions regarding the problems faced by them during the moon mission, Armstrong said, “Around two hours after leaving earth, the lunar command and landing modules separated from the main rocket. Three days later, the crew entered the lunar orbit (orbit around the moon). During the landing, there were several problems with the mission computer and to avoid a crash, we had to take manual control of the landing craft.”

He added that adjusting the lander’s flight path was especially tricky with the craft balanced on the rocket thrust, changing the direction and required tilting of the spacecraft slightly to one side. The craft eventually landed with only 25 seconds of fuel left.

Armstrong informed that his accomplice Aldrin joined him on the moon surface and tested methods for moving around, including two-footed kangaroo hops.

“The personal life support system backpack created a tendency to tip backwards, but no astronaut had serious problems maintaining balance. Loping became the preferred method of movement. The astronauts reported that they needed to plan their movements six or seven steps ahead. The fine soil was quite slippery,” recalled Armstrong.

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