SPACE

Apollo 11 is the designation of the space flight that landed the first humans on Earth's Moon on July 20, 1969. The mission, carried out by the United States, is considered a major accomplishment in the history of exploration and represented a victory for the U.S. in the Cold War Space Race with the Soviet Union.

Launched from Florida on July 16, the third lunar mission of NASA's Apollo program (and the only G-type mission) was crewed by Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin landed in the Sea of Tranquility and on July 21 became the first humans to walk on the Moon. Their landing craft,Eagle, spent 21 hours and 31 minutes on the lunar surface while Collins orbited above in the command ship, Columbia.^[2] The three astronauts returned to Earth with 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar rocks and landed in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.

Apollo 11 fulfilled U.S. President John F. Kennedy's goal of reaching the moon before the Soviet Union by the end of the 1960s, which he had expressed during a 1961 mission statement before the United States Congress: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."^[3]

Five additional Apollo missions landed on the Moon from 1969–1972.

[edit]Crew

Position	Astronaut
Commander	Neil Alden Armstrong Second spaceflight
Command Module Pilot	Michael Collins Second spaceflight
Lunar Module Pilot	Edwin "Buzz" E. Aldrin, Jr. Second spaceflight

Each crewman of Apollo 11 had made a spaceflight before this mission, making it only the second all-veteran crew (the other being Apollo 10) in manned spaceflight history.^[4]

Collins was originally slated to be the Command Module Pilot (CMP) on Apollo 8 but was removed when he required surgery on his back and was replaced by Jim Lovell, his backup for that flight. After Collins was medically cleared, he took what would have been Lovell's spot on Apollo 11; as a veteran of Apollo 8, Lovell was transferred to Apollo 11's backup crew, but promoted to backup commander.

[edit]Backup crew

Position	Astronaut
Commander	James A. Lovell, Jr
Command Module Pilot	William A. Anders
Lunar Module Pilot	Fred W. Haise, Jr

In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was delayed past its intended July launch (at which point Anders would be unavailable if needed) and would later join Lovell's crew and ultimately be assigned as the original Apollo 13 CMP.^[5]

[edit]Support crew

Aldrin unpacks experiments from the LM, named Eagle.

Charlie Duke, Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM)
Ronald Evans, CAPCOM
Owen K. Garriott, CAPCOM
Don L. Lind, CAPCOM
Ken Mattingly, CAPCOM
Bruce McCandless II, CAPCOM
Harrison Schmitt, CAPCOM
Bill Pogue
Jack Swigert

[edit]Flight directors

Cliff Charlesworth (Green Team), launch and EVA
Gene Kranz (White Team), lunar landing
Glynn Lunney (Black Team), lunar ascent

[edit]Nomenclature

Boilerplate Apollo command module depicting the Apollo 11 Command ModuleColumbia at the Udvar-Hazy Center

When the crew of Apollo 10 named their spacecrafts Charlie Brown and Snoopy, assistant manager for public affairs Julian Scheer wrote Manned Spacecraft Center director George M. Low to suggest the Apollo 11 crew be less flippant in naming their craft. The command module was named Columbia for the feminine personification of the United States used traditionally in song and poetry. The lunar module was named Eagle for the national bird of the United States, the bald eagle, which is featured prominently on the mission insignia. Backup commander Jim Lovell recommended the name Eagle for the lunar module. During early mission planning, the namesSnowcone and Haystack were used but changed before announcement to the press.^[6]

[edit]Mission highlights

[edit]Launch and lunar orbit injection

Thousands of spectators camped out adjacent to Kennedy Space Center to watch the launch of Apollo 11.

Engineers in the Launch Control Center

The Saturn V carrying Apollo 11 took several seconds to clear the launch toweron 16 July 1969.

A condensation cloud forms around an interstage as the Saturn V approachedMach 1, one minute into the flight.

S-IC separation.

The Eagle in lunar orbit immediately after separating from Columbia.

In addition to throngs of people crowding highways and beaches near the launch site, millions watched the event on television, with NASA Chief of Public Information Jack King providing commentary. President Richard Nixon viewed the proceedings from the Oval Office of the White House.

A Saturn V launched Apollo 11 from Launch Pad 39A, part of the Launch Complex 39 site at theKennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969 at 13:32:00 UTC (9:32:00 a.m. local time). It entered orbit 12 minutes later.^[1] After one and a half orbits, the S-IVB third-stage engine pushed the spacecraft onto its trajectory toward the Moon with the Trans Lunar Injection burn at 16:22:13 UTC. About 30 minutes later the command/service module pair separated from this last remaining Saturn V stage and docked with the lunar module still nestled in the Lunar Module Adaptor. After the lunar module was extracted, the combined spacecraft headed for the Moon, while the third stage booster flew on a trajectory past the moon and into solar orbit.^[7]

On July 19 at 17:21:50 UTC, Apollo 11 passed behind the Moon and fired its service propulsion engine to enter lunar orbit. In the thirty orbits^[8]that followed, the crew saw passing views of their landing site in the southern Sea of Tranquility (Mare Tranquillitatis) about 20 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of the crater Sabine D (0.67408N, 23.47297E). The landing site was selected in part because it had been characterized as relatively flat and smooth by the automated Ranger 8 and Surveyor 5 landers along with the Lunar Orbiter mapping spacecraft and unlikely to present major landing or extra-vehicular activity (EVA) challenges.^[9]

[edit]Lunar descent

On July 20, 1969 the lunar module (LM) Eagle separated from the command module Columbia. Collins, alone aboard Columbia, inspectedEagle as it pirouetted before him to ensure the craft was not damaged.

As the descent began, Armstrong and Aldrin found that they were passing landmarks on the surface 4 seconds early and reported that they were "long": they would land miles west of their target point.

Five minutes into the descent burn, and 6,000 feet (1,800 m) above the surface of the moon, the LM navigation and guidance computerdistracted the crew with the first of several unexpected "1202" and "1201" program alarms. Inside Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, computer engineer Jack Garman told guidance officer Steve Bales it was safe to continue the descent and this was relayed to the crew. The program alarms indicated "executive overflows", where the guidance computer could not complete all of its tasks in real time and had to postpone some of them.^[10] This was neither a computer error nor an astronaut error, but stemmed from a mistake in how the astronauts had been trained. Although unneeded for the landing, the rendezvous radar was intentionally turned on to make ready for a fast abort. Ground simulation setups had not foreseen that a fast stream of spurious interrupts from this radar could happen, depending upon how the hardware randomly powered up before the LM then began nearing the lunar surface: hence the computer had to deal with data from two radars, not the landing radar alone, which led to the overload.^[11]^[12]^[13]

When Armstrong again looked outside, he saw that the computer's landing target was in a boulder-strewn area just north and east of a 300 meter diameter crater (later determined to be "West crater", named for its location in the western part of the originally planned landing ellipse). Armstrong took semi-automatic control^[14] and, with Aldrin calling out altitude and velocity data, landed at 20:17 UTC on July 20 with about 25 seconds of fuel left.^[15]

Apollo 11 landed with less fuel than other missions, and the astronauts also encountered a premature low fuel warning. This was later found to have been due to greater propellant 'slosh' than expected uncovering a fuel sensor. On subsequent missions, extra baffles were added to the tanks to prevent this.^[15]

Throughout the descent Aldrin had called out navigation data to Armstrong, who was busy piloting the LM. A few moments before the landing, a light informed Aldrin that at least one of the 67 inches (170 cm) probes hanging from Eagle's footpads had touched the surface, and he said "Contact light!". Three seconds later, Eagle landed and Armstrong said "Shutdown". Aldrin immediately said "Okay, engine stop. ACA - out of detent." Armstrong acknowledged "Out of detent. Auto" and Aldrin continued "Mode control - both auto. Descent engine command override off. Engine arm - off. 413 is in."

Charles Duke, acting as CAPCOM during the landing phase, acknowledged their landing by saying "We copy you down, Eagle".

Armstrong continued with the remainder of the post landing checklist, "Engine arm is off." before responding to Duke with the famous words, "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." Armstrong's abrupt change of call sign from "Eagle" to "Tranquility Base" caused momentary confusion at Mission Control and Duke remained silent for a couple of seconds before, momentarily tongue-tied, expressing the relief of Mission Control: "Roger, Twan-- Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot."^[15]^[16]

Two and a half hours after landing, before preparations began for the EVA, Aldrin broadcast that:

"This is the LM pilot. I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way."^[17]

He then took Communion privately. At this time NASA was still fighting a lawsuit brought by atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair (who had objected to the Apollo 8 crew reading from the Book of Genesis) which demanded that their astronauts refrain from religious activities while in space. As such, Aldrin chose to refrain from directly mentioning this. He had kept the plan quiet (not even mentioning it to his wife) and did not reveal it publicly for several years.^{[citation needed]}

First Man on Moon Commemorative Issue of 1969

Aldrin was an elder at Webster Presbyterian Church in Webster, Texas. His communion kit was prepared by the pastor of the church, the Rev. Dean Woodruff. Aldrin described communion on the moon and the involvement of his church and pastor in the October 1970 edition ofGuideposts magazine and in his book Return to Earth. Webster Presbyterian possesses the chalice used on the moon, and commemorates the event each year on the Sunday closest to July 20.^[18]

The schedule for the mission called for the astronauts to follow the landing with a five-hour sleep period, since they had been awake since early morning. However, they elected to forgo the sleep period and begin the preparations for the EVA early, thinking that they would be unable to sleep.

[edit]Lunar surface operations

[edit]Lunar ascent and return

Aldrin stands next to the Passive Seismic Experiment Package with the Lunar Modulein the background.

Aldrin entered Eagle first. With some difficulty the astronauts lifted film and two sample boxes containing more than 22 kilograms (49 lb) of lunar surface material to the LM hatch using a flat cable pulley device called the Lunar Equipment Conveyor. Armstrong reminded Aldrin of a bag of memorial items in his suit pocket sleeve, and Aldrin tossed the bag down; Armstrong then jumped to the ladder's third rung and climbed into the LM. After transferring to LM life support, the explorers lightened the ascent stage for return to lunar orbit by tossing out their PLSS backpacks, lunar overshoes, one Hasselblad camera, and other equipment. They then pressurized the LM, and settled down to sleep.^[36]

During this time another spacecraft, Luna 15 - an unmanned Soviet spacecraft in lunar orbit, began its own descent to the lunar surface. Launched only three days before the Apollo 11 mission, this was the third Soviet attempt to return lunar soil back to Earth. The Russian craft crashed on the moon at 15:50 UT – just a few hours before the scheduled American liftoff.^[37] In a race to reach the Moon and return to Earth, the parallel missions of Luna 15 and Apollo 11 were, in many ways, the climax of the Space Race that underlay the space programs of both the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s. The simultaneous missions became one of the first instances of Soviet/American space cooperation as the USSR released Luna 15's flight plan to ensure it would not collide with Apollo 11, though its exact mission was unknown.^[38]

While moving within the cabin, Aldrin accidentally broke the circuit breaker that would arm the main engine for lift off from the moon. There was concern this would prevent firing the engine, stranding them on the moon. Fortunately a felt-tip pen was sufficient to activate the switch.^[36] Had this not worked, the Lunar Module circuitry could have been reconfigured to allow firing the ascent engine.^[39]

After about seven hours of rest, the crew were awakened by Houston to prepare for the return flight. Two and a half hours later, at 17:54 UTC, they lifted off in Eagle's ascent stage, carrying 21.5 kilograms of lunar samples with them, to rejoin CMP Michael Collins aboard Columbia in lunar orbit. During the launch Aldrin looked up in time to see the exhaust from the ascent module's engine knock over the American flag they had planted.^[1]

The historical plaque on the ladder of Apollo 11's lunar module "Eagle", still remaining on the Moon

After more than 2½ hours on the lunar surface, they had left behind scientific instruments which included a retroreflector array used for theLunar Laser Ranging Experiment and a Passive Seismic Experiment used to measure moon quakes. They also left an American flag, anApollo 1 mission patch, and a plaque (mounted on the LM Descent Stage ladder) bearing two drawings of Earth (of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres), an inscription, and signatures of the astronauts and President Richard M. Nixon. The inscription read:

Here Men From The Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We Came in Peace For All Mankind.

They also left behind a memorial bag containing a gold replica of an olive branch as a traditional symbol of peace and a silicon message disk. The disk carries the goodwill statements by Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon and messages from leaders of 73 countries around the world. The disc also carries a listing of the leadership of the US Congress, a listing of members of the four committees of the House and Senate responsible for the NASA legislation, and the names of NASA's past and present top management.^[40] (In his 1989 book, Men from Earth, Aldrin says that the items included Soviet medals commemorating Cosmonauts Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin.) Also, according toDeke Slayton's book 'Moonshot', Armstrong carried with him a special diamond-studded Astronaut pin from Deke.

Film taken from the LM Ascent Stage upon liftoff from the moon reveals the American flag, planted some 25 feet (8 m) from the descent stage, whipping violently in the exhaust of the ascent stage engine. Buzz Aldrin witnessed it topple: "The ascent stage of the LM separated ...I was concentrating on the computers, and Neil was studying the attitude indicator, but I looked up long enough to see the flag fall over."^[41]Subsequent Apollo missions usually planted the American flags at least 100 feet (30 m) from the LM to prevent its being blown over by the ascent engine exhaust.

Aldrin salutes the flag symbolizing America's victory in the space race.

After rendezvous with Columbia, Eagle's ascent stage was jettisoned into lunar orbit at July 21, 1969 at 23:41 UT (7:41 PM EDT). Just before the Apollo 12 flight, it was noted that Eagle was still likely to be orbiting the moon. Later NASA reports mentioned that Eagle'sorbit had decayed resulting in it impacting in an "uncertain location" on the lunar surface.^[42] The location is uncertain because theEagle ascent stage was not tracked after it was jettisoned and the lunar gravity field is sufficiently uncertain to make the orbit of the spacecraft unpredictable after a short time. NASA estimated that the orbit had decayed within months and would have impacted on the Moon.

On July 23, the last night before splashdown, the three astronauts made a television broadcast in which Collins commented,

"... The Saturn V rocket which put us in orbit is an incredibly complicated piece of machinery, every piece of which worked flawlessly ... We have always had confidence that this equipment will work properly. All this is possible only through the blood, sweat, and tears of a number of a people ...All you see is the three of us, but beneath the surface are thousands and thousands of others, and to all of those, I would like to say, 'Thank you very much.'"

Aldrin added,

"This has been far more than three men on a mission to the Moon; more, still, than the efforts of a government and industry team; more, even, than the efforts of one nation. We feel that this stands as a symbol of the insatiable curiosity of all mankind to explore the unknown ... Personally, in reflecting on the events of the past several days, a verse from Psalms comes to mind. 'When I consider the heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the Moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man that Thou art mindful of him?'"

Armstrong concluded,

"The responsibility for this flight lies first with history and with the giants of science who have preceded this effort; next with the American people, who have, through their will, indicated their desire; next with four administrations and their Congresses, for implementing that will; and then, with the agency and industry teams that built our spacecraft, the Saturn, the Columbia, the Eagle, and the little EMU, the spacesuit and backpack that was our small spacecraft out on the lunar surface. We would like to give special thanks to all those Americans who built the spacecraft; who did the construction, design, the tests, and put their hearts and all their abilities into those craft. To those people tonight, we give a special thank you, and to all the other people that are listening and watching tonight, God bless you. Good night from Apollo 11."^[43]

On the return to Earth, the Guam tracking station failed, which would have prevented communication on the last segment of the Earth return. Repair was not possible until a staff member had his ten-year old son, Greg Force, do repairs made possible by his small hands. Force later was thanked by Armstrong.^[44]

[edit]Splashdown and quarantine

The Columbia floats on the ocean as navy divers assist in retrieving the astronauts.

On July 24, the astronauts returned home aboard the command module Columbia just before dawn at

13°19′N 169°9′W, in the Pacific Ocean 2,660 kilometres (1,440 nmi) east of Wake Island, or 380 kilometres (210 nmi) south of Johnston Atoll, and 24 kilometres (15 mi) from the recovery ship, USS Hornet.

At roughly 11:45 a.m. CST the drogue parachutes deployed. At 11:51, the command module struck the water forcefully. Initially the command module landed upside down but was righted in several minutes by flotation bags triggered by the astronauts. "Everything's okay. Our checklist is complete. Awaiting swimmers," was Armstrong's last official transmission from the Columbia. A diver from the Navy helicopter hovering above attached a sea anchor to the command module to prevent it from drifting. Additional divers attached flotation collars to stabilize the module and position rafts for astronaut extraction. Though the possibility of bringing back pathogens from the lunar surface was considered remote, it was not considered impossible and NASA took great precautions at the recovery site. Divers provided the astronauts with Biological Isolation Garments (BIGs) which were worn until they reached isolation facilities onboard the Hornet. Additionally astronauts were rubbed down with a sodium-hydrochloride solution and the command module wiped with Betadine to remove any lunar dust that might be present. The raft containing decontamination materials was then intentionally sunk.^[45]

A second Sea King helicopter hoisted the astronauts aboard one by one, where a NASA flight surgeon gave each a brief physical check during the 0.5 nautical miles (930 m) trip back to the Hornet.

The crew of Apollo 11 in quarantine after returning to Earth, visited by Richard Nixon.

After touchdown on the Hornet, the astronauts exited the helicopter, leaving the flight surgeon and 3 crew. The helicopter was then lowered into hangar bay #2 where the astronauts walked the 30 feet (9.1 m) to the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) where they would begin their 21 days of quarantine. This practice would continue for two more Apollo missions, Apollo 12 and Apollo 14, before the Moon was proven to be barren of life and the quarantine process dropped.^[45]^[46]

President Richard Nixon was aboard Hornet to personally welcome the astronauts back to Earth. He told the astronauts: "As a result of what you've done, the world has never been closer together before."^[47] After Nixon departed, the Hornet was brought alongside the 5 ton command module where it was placed aboard by the ship's crane, placed on a dolly and moved next to the MQF. The Hornet steamed for Pearl Harborwhere the command module and MQF were airlifted to the Johnson Space Center.^[45]

Years later, it was publicly revealed that Nixon had prepared a speech to be given in the event the Lunar Module had failed to lift off from the lunar surface, which would have resulted in Armstrong's and Aldrin's deaths.^[48]^[49]

The Washington Post on Monday, July 21, 1969 stating "'The Eagle Has Landed'—Two Men Walk on the Moon".

The astronauts were placed in quarantine after their landing on the moon for fear that the moon might contain undiscovered pathogens, and that the astronauts might have been exposed to them during their moon walks. (The decision to do so was made in accordance with the recently passedExtra-Terrestrial Exposure Law). However, after almost three weeks in confinement (first in their trailer and later in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center), the astronauts were given a clean bill of health.^[50] On August 13, 1969, the astronauts exited quarantine to the cheers of the American public. Parades were held in their honor in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles on the same day.^[51] A few weeks later, they were invited by Mexico for a parade honoring them in Mexico City.

That evening in Los Angeles there was an official State Dinner to celebrate Apollo 11, attended by Members of Congress, 44 Governors, the Chief Justice, and ambassadors from 83 nations at the Century Plaza Hotel. President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnewhonored each astronaut with a presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This celebration was the beginning of a 45-day "Giant Leap" tour that brought the astronauts to 25 foreign countries and included visits with prominent leaders such as Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Many nations would honor the first manned moon landing by issuing Apollo 11 commemorative postage stamps or coins.^[52] Also, a few POWs held in Vietnam received letters from home a few months after the landings with those stamps to covertly let the POWs know that the United States had landed men on the moon.^{[citation needed]}

On September 16, 1969, the three astronauts spoke before a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill. They presented two U.S. flags, one to the House of Representatives and the other to the Senate, that had been carried to the surface of the moon with them.

[edit]Spacecraft location

Spacecraft locations

Command module at the National Air and Space Museum

Lunar module landing site photographed by theLunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

The command module is displayed at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C. It is in the central Milestones of Flight exhibition hall in front of the Jefferson Drive entrance, sharing the main hall with other pioneering flight vehicles such as the Wright Flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis, the Bell X-1, the North American X-15, Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7, and Gemini 4. The quarantine trailer, the flotation collar, and the righting spheres are displayed at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center annex near Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia.

In 2009 the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter imaged the various Apollo landing sites on the surface of the moon with sufficient resolution to see the descent stages of the lunar modules, scientific instruments, and foot trails made by the astronauts.

[edit]Mission insignia

The patch of Apollo 11 was designed by Collins, who wanted a symbol for "peaceful lunar landing by the United States." He chose an eagle as the symbol, put an olive branch in its beak, and drew a moon background with the earth in the distance. NASA officials said the talons of the eagle looked too "warlike" and after some discussion, the olive branch was moved to the claws. The crew decided the Roman numeral XI would not be understood in some nations and went with Apollo 11; they decided not to put their names on the patch, so it would "be representative of everyone who had worked toward a lunar landing."^[53]

All colors are natural, with blue and gold borders around the patch. The LM was named Eagle to match the insignia. When the Eisenhower dollar coin was released a few years later, the patch design provided the eagle for its reverse side.^[54] The design was retained for the smaller Susan B. Anthony dollar which was unveiled in 1979, ten years after the Apollo 11 mission.^{[citation needed]}

[edit]40th anniversary events

Mike Simons, director of the National Electronics Museum in Baltimore, Md., assembles an Apollo TV camera for display prior to NASA's briefing to release restored Apollo 11 moonwalk footage at theNewseum.

On July 15, 2009, Life.com released a photo gallery of previously unpublished photos of the astronauts taken by Life photographer Ralph Morseprior to the Apollo 11 launch.^[55]

From July 16–24, 2009 NASA streamed the original mission audio on its website in real time 40 years to the minute after the events occurred.^[56] In addition, it is in the process of restoring the video footage and has released a preview of key moments.^[57] More events are listed at the 40th anniversary website.

The John F. Kennedy Library set up a Flash website wechoosethemoon.org^[58] that rebroadcasts the transmissions of Apollo 11 from launch to landing on the Moon.

A group of British scientists interviewed as part of the anniversary events reflected on the significance of the Moon landing:

It was carried out in a technically brilliant way with risks taken ... that would be inconceivable in the risk-averse world of today...The Apollo programme is arguably the greatest technical achievement of mankind to date...nothing since Apollo has come close [to] the excitement that was generated by those astronauts - Armstrong, Aldrin and the 10 others who followed them.^[59]

Wikinews has related news:Fortieth anniversary of first manned Moon landing

On August 7, 2009, an act of Congress awarded the three astronauts a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the United States. The bill was sponsored by Florida Sen. Bill Nelson and Florida Rep. Alan Grayson.^[60]^[61]

SPACE

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Polish Aviation Museum

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BLOGG Galery

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APOLLO 11

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