We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy,

but because they are hard.

Godspeed, John Glenn.

Roger, zero G, and I feel fine.

Okay, I'm out.

How does it feel for the United States to be the new record holder?

At last, huh?

In that baby lights, there's no doubt about it.

Lift-off.

We have a lift-off.

32 minutes past the hour.

Lift-off in Apollo 11.

Listing, uh, Tranquility base here.

The Eagle has landed.

That's one small step for man.

One giant leap for mankind.

Hello and welcome. This is Michael Annis, and you're listening to Episode 281 of the Space Rocket History podcast.

And now, Apollo 13, Homeward Bound.

Continuing from episode 280, there was now calls for optimism around mission control. At the Telmue station where the Lim's vital environmental signs were being constantly

monitored, the readings of carbon dioxide concentrations aboard Aquarius had been steadily dropping

all day long. Less than six hours after Ed Smiley's ingenious air scrubber went online, the cockpit CO2 had dropped to a scant 0.2% of the overall air mass, a mere gaseous trace that could barely be detected by the onboard sensors, much less do the astronauts any harm.

At the Inco Station, matters seemed similarly well in hand. The tight, passive thermal control

...