EMIRATE OF FUJAIRAH (UAE)
REIGN OF SHEIKH MOHAMMAD BIN HAMAD AL SHARQI (1942-1974)
COMMEMORATING THE APOLLO XI FIRST LUNAR LANDING SPACE MISSION
CERTIFIED BY NGC PROOF 68 ULTRA CAMEO
AH 1388 // 1969
OBV: SHIELD OF NATIONAL ARMS; ARABIC AND ENGLISH INSCRIPTIONS; DENOMINATION AT BOTTOM.
REV: APOLLO XI MISSION; BUSTS OF ASTRONAUTS COLLINS, ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN IN SPACESUITS AT BOTTOM; LARGE MOON OFF CENTER BEHIND RIGHT; STARS IN BACKGOUND; ARABIC AND ENGLISH INSCRIPTIONS WITH DATES UPPER LEFT.
KM # 9
APOLLO XI WAS LAUNCHED JULY 16, 1969. AS MILLIONS WATCHED THE SPACEFLIGHT ON TELEVISION, A SATURN V ROCKET ASCENDED FROM KENNEDY SPACE CENTER IN FLORIDA AT 9:32 EST THAT MORNING. THE CRAFT ENTERED EARTH ORBIT 12 MINUTES LATER, AND AFTER 1 ½ ORBITS, ITS THIRD STAGE ENGINE PUSHED THE SPACECRAFT INTO TRAJECTORY TOWARD THE MOON.
THIRTY MINUTES AFTER THAT, THE COMMAND/SERVICE MODULE SEPARATED FROM THE REMAINING SATURN V STAGE SECTION AND DOCKED WITH THE LUNAR MODULE, THEN THE COMBINED LUNAR CRAFT HEADED TOWARD ITS DESTINATION.
IT ENTERED LUNAR ORBIT JULY 19th. ON JULY 20th, EAGLE, THE LUNAR MODULE, SEPARATED FROM COLUMBIA, THE COMMAND MODULE. WITH 25 MINUTES OF FUEL LEFT. EAGLE LANDED IN A 980’ DIAMETER CRATER IN THE AREA KNOWN AS THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY, AT 8:18 PM (COORDINATED UNIVERSAL TIME), JULY 20th, 1969.
ON JULY 21, AT 2:39 PM UTC, MISSION COMMANDER NEIL A. ARMSTRONG SQUEEZED THROUGH THE HATCH WITH SOME DIFFICULTY CARRYING HIS PORTABLE LIFE SUPPORT UNIT, AND STARTED TO MAKE HIS DESCENT DOWN THE LADDER OF THE MODULE TO THE LUNAR SURFACE. AT 2:56 PM UTC, HE PLACED HIS LEFT FOOT ON THE SURFACE, THE FIRST HUMAN BEING TO STAND ON THE SURFACE OF THE MOON. SIX AND A HALF HOURS AFTER LANDING, AND AFTER DESCRIBING THE SURFACE AS “VERY FINE-GRAINED” AND “ALMOST LIKE POWDER”, ARMSTRONG UTTERED HIS IMMORTAL WORDS, “THAT’S ONE SMALL STEP FOR [A] MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.”
ABOUT 19 MINUTES LATER, LUNAR MODULE PILOT EUGENE E. “BUZZ” ALDRIN JR., JOINED ARMSTRONG ON THE SURFACE. AFTER PERFORMING SOME EXPERIMENTS, COLLECTING SAMPLES, PLANTING A SPECIAL UNITED STATES FLAG, PERFORMING OTHER SURFACE ACTIVITIES, AND TAKING A PHONE CALL FROM PRESIDENT RICHARD M. NIXON, BOTH MEN RETURNED TO THE MODULE. AFTER OVER 21 ½ HOURS ON THE LUNAR SURFACE, AT 17:54 UTC, THE MODULE ASCENDED INTO LUNAR ORBIT TO REJOIN WITH COLUMBIA, PILOTED BY MICHAEL COLLINS.
ON JULY 21, AT 12:51 PM (HAST), THE COMMAND MODULE CAPSULE, BEARING THE THREE COURAGEOUS AMERICAN ASTRONAUTS, SPLASHED DOWN IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN, ENDING THE MONUMENTAL JOURNEY THAT IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS IN HUMAN HISTORY.
CONTAINS 20.73 GRAMS OF 900 FINE GOLD
0.5998 OZ AGW
36 MM IN DIAMETER
ONLY 2,140 MINTED!
