Last Edited: 08 May 2008
Human Images
Kenyanthropus platyops and Australopithicus afarensis
Kenyanthropus platyops
Homo erectus Skull
Homo sapiens neanderthalensis [originally Homo neanderthalensis] (left) and Homo sapiens sapiens (right)
Homo erectus (left); Australopithicus afarensis (center); Homo sapiens sapiens (right)
Dates and names on this graphic are questionable. It was used to indicate evolution of skull.
Evolution of the Human Skull
The human skull has changed dramatically during the past 4 million years. As the skull evolved from Australopithecus to Homo (sapiens) sapiens, the capacity of the cranium increased (to accommodate the growth of the brain), the face flattened, the chin recessed, and the size of the teeth decreased. Scientists believe that the incredible growth in the size of the brain may be related to the increasing sophistication of hominine behavior. Anthropologists also theorize that the brain evolved a high capacity for learning and reasoning, and after that cultural, not physical, evolution changed the way humans live.
Dorling Kindersley (from Encarta Encyclopedia)
The Crew of Apollo 11
During the historic Apollo 11 lunar mission in 1969, astronaut Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr., called Buzz Aldrin, became the second man to walk on the moon. Aldrin also piloted the Gemini 12 rendezvous space flight in 1966, during which he set a new 5.5 hour record for extended spacewalking
Commander of the 1969 Apollo 11 lunar mission,
Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon. An aeronautical
pioneer, Armstrong also took part in the first in-space docking of two vehicles.
He was the first civilian to enter NASA's astronaut program.
The
mission objective for Apollo 11 was simply to take humans to the moon and return
safely. Both NASA and the crew recognized the mission's significance for all
humans, and reflected this in several ways. Apollo 11's mission patch is the
only mission patch in NASA history to have no individual names on it. A plaque
mounted on one leg of the lunar module, the part of the Apollo spacecraft that
landed on the moon, bears a map of the earth, the signatures of President
Richard Nixon and all three astronauts, and the inscription, "Here men from
the planet earth first set foot upon the moon July 1969 A.D. We came in peace
for all mankind."
Michael Collins orbited the moon in the
Command Module (CM) "Columbia" while Aldrin and Armstrong landed upon the moon in the Lunar Module
(LM) "Eagle".
The
Apollo 11 mission to the moon involved a complicated, carefully timed series of stages, as shown here. The journey to the moon is shown as a yellow line, while the return trip is indicated by a blue line. During orbit phases, the paths overlap. The capsule shown at splashdown is far smaller than the original craft. This is because used fuel tanks (which account for a large percentage of a ship's bulk) were released in space as the craft traveled, and the landing module remained behind on the moon.
Departing the moon, the Lunar Module (pictured) closes for a rendezvous with the Command module.
