After landing on the moon during Apollo 11, Buzz Aldrin accidentally damaged the circuit breaker that would arm the ascent engine that would get them off the moon. The astronauts activated the engine by triggering the circuit with a felt-tipped pen.

Apollo 11

This article is about the 1969 crewed lunar mission. For other uses, see Apollo 11 (disambiguation).

Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin formed the American crew that landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC (14:17 CST). Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface six hours and 39 minutes later on July 21 at 02:56 UTC; Aldrin joined him 19 minutes later. They spent about two and a quarter hours together outside the spacecraft, and they collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material to bring back to Earth. Command module pilot Michael Collins flew the Command Module Columbia alone in lunar orbit w… Continue Reading (51 minute read)