10 BIZARRE FACTS ABOUT THE TRIP

Here, as the world prepares to mark five decades since the successful July 20, 1969, mission, we reveal 10 bizarre facts about the trip and the astronauts involved ...

1 AUTOGRAPHS AS LIFE INSURANCE

APOLLO 11 was a high-risk mission, so astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins didn’t know whether they would return to Earth alive, if at all.

But instead of taking out life insurance — which we imagine would have been ridiculously expensive — they came up with an ingenious plan involving their signatures.

The crew signed hundreds of envelopes before their journey to the Moon, which were postmarked on important dates.

These postmarked envelopes, known as “covers”, were then distributed to their families by a close pal to act as “life insurance” in the event the astronauts died.

“If they did not return from the Moon, their families could sell them — to not just fund their day-to-day lives, but also fund their kids’ college education and other life needs,” space historian Robert Pearlman tells NPR.

Fortunately, the autographs weren’t needed.

2 THEY PEED INTO ‘CONDOMS’ AND WORE NAPPIES

A TOILET on the Moon? Not a chance. Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins didn’t even have the luxury of a loo on board the Apollo 11 spacecraft as they were propelled towards orbit from Florida in front of one million spectators.

During their eight days in space, the trio had to pee into a “roll-on cuff” — a rubber tube that resembled a condom and was hooked up to a “receiver” tube and a collection bag.

The process for defecating was even more disgusting.

Astronauts on Apollo missions relied on an “extremely basic system” that involved taping a plastic bag to their buttocks to capture their faeces, a NASA report states. After going to the toilet, they then had to seal up the bag, knead it, roll it into the “smallest possible volume” and store it so they could bring it back to Earth.

The astronauts couldn’t do this while on the moon itself, so they wore an absorbent pair of undershorts instead — essentially, a nappy.

3 THEIR SPACESUITS WERE MADE BY BRA EXPERTS

ARMSTRONG was wearing a custom-made spacesuit — estimated to cost around $100,000 at the time — when he took his famous first steps on the moon.

But what many people don’t know is that the outfit was actually created by bra experts.

Seamstresses who usually made Playtex bras and girdles made the suits after International Latex Corporation won the contract.

The all-female team had to be precise. Even a 1/32-inch stitching error on one of the 21 layers of fabric could deem a suit unworthy of space, according to Smithsonian magazine.

4 ARMSTRONG’S PROMISE TO HIS PANICKED GRAN

ARMSTRONG made a promise to his concerned gran before the Apollo 11 mission.

Elderly Caroline Korspeter told TV crews that her grandson had assured her he wouldn’t step out of the spacecraft on to the moon if it looked dangerous.

The 82-year-old said of the journey: “I think it’s dangerous. I told Neil to look around and not to step out if it didn’t look good. He said he wouldn’t.”

In the end, Armstrong didn’t have to heed his gran’s warning.

5 APOLLO COMPUTER LESS POWERFUL THAN A CALCULATOR

THE Apollo Guidance Computer played a key role in the success of the moon landing, providing interfaces for guidance, navigation and spacecraft control.

Back in the late 1960s, it was a state-of-the-art device. But despite weighing more than 30kg, the computer was actually less powerful than a calculator.

Two popular calculators, used by maths and science students, were found to be 140 and 350 times faster than the AGC in terms of processing speed. Despite the AGC’s simplicity, it didn’t malfunction once during the mission.

6 THEY LEFT SOUVENIRS ON THE MOON ...

ARMSTRONG and Aldrin left a range of items on the moon. These included a 50c-sized silicon disc, containing messages of peace from 73 world leaders — including the Queen.

Her Majesty’s message read: “On behalf of the British people I salute the skill and courage which have brought man to the Moon. May this endeavour increase the knowledge and wellbeing of mankind.”

Other souvenirs included the American flag, a small replica of an olive branch, and a plaque proclaiming “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon. July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”

7 ... AND THEY BROUGHT SOME BACK

SOUVENIR moon rocks, dust and other lunar samples have since been studied by scientists across the globe. The astronauts also brought back their bags of faeces.

After landing on Earth, Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins were placed in quarantine. They were examined by scientists until it was sure they wouldn’t contaminate the planet.

8 HOW A FELT-TIP PEN GOT THEM HOME

THE astronauts were actually seconds away from never making it home after one of the ship’s most important switches broke — until a felt-tip pen saved the day.

The circuit-breaker that activated the ascent engine, getting the group off the moon, broke during the mission, according to Jonathan Mayo’s book Titanic: Minute By Minute.

Facing seemingly certain death, Aldrin thought outside the box and decided to use the pen to flick the switch instead. It worked.

9 THEY COULD HAVE BEEN ABANDONED ON THE MOON

THERE were plans to abandon the astronauts on the moon if things didn’t go as planned.

A speech, titled “In the Event of Moon Disaster”, was prepared for then-US president Richard Nixon to read on TV in case Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins became stranded.

If this had happened, Mission Control would have stopped communicating with the trio and Nixon would have phoned each of their partners to break the news. He would have then made his speech, including the words: “These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.”

The speech never had to be read out.

10 THEY WERE MET WITH A ‘GUNPOWDER’ SMELL

THE moon’s smell would have likely been the last thing on Armstrong’s mind as he stepped on it — but astronauts have since compared the powerful scent to gunpowder. Harrison “Jack” Schmitt, of the Apollo 17 mission, claimed that “everyone’s instant impression of the smell was that of spent gunpowder” yet neither metallic nor acrid. “Spent gunpowder smell probably was much more implanted in our memories than other comparable odours,” Schmitt said.

It has been claimed that the smell may be the result of the astronauts’ nasal membranes reacting to the electrically charged dust on the moon.