astronaut edward aldrin, jr. would pilot the lunar module, and astronaut neil armstrong would serve as mission commander. armstrong would be the first man to step up on the moon. july 16. the day had come. the moon awaited. the men rose early, ate breakfast, and dressed in their pacesuits. other astronauts had made this journey to the launchpad, but never with such anticipation. :32 a.m., july 16. three hours later, the apollo command module moves forward to extract the lunar module from the third stage of the launch vehicle. both are moving at more than 70 miles an hour. docked together, they will fail one quarter million miles across the sea of space and into orbit around the earth's nearest neighbor. >> that was neil. how are you reading, mike? >> loud and clear now, mike, as we understand that you are ocked. >> during the three-day journey, to the moon, the astronauts kept busy. checklists, navigation, and observation, housekeeping. they must work in a weightless environment, keeping their spacecraft and them