Record A
03:05:58 UTC
Collection of the contingency sample begins.
MOONWALK CLOCK DESK / SHEET 1 OF 3
Five slips from one moonwalk
Cut out the cards or write their letters in order. All events are on 21 July 1969 in UTC. Some cards use mission elapsed time instead.
Clock alignment: mission elapsed 109:00:00 = 02:32:00 UTC.
Example: 109:10:00 elapsed is 02:42:00 UTC.
Record B
109:19:16 elapsed
Armstrong is fully outside on the porch.
Record C
109:24:15 elapsed
Armstrong takes his first step on the surface.
Record D
02:39:33 UTC
The lunar module hatch opens.
Record E
02:54:00 UTC
The first clear television picture arrives.
Partner challenge
One partner explains each clock conversion. The other checks the minutes and seconds. Swap roles for the next card, then agree on an order before checking the key.
Original activity by Honest Little Apps. Event descriptions paraphrase NASA’s Apollo 11 timeline. This is an educational browser companion, not a screenshot or a case from the iPhone app.
1 / RECORD CARDS · Free to copy and print this original activity for classroom, family and study-group use with attribution. NASA source on sheet 3.
MOONWALK CLOCK DESK / SHEET 2 OF 3
Make the clocks agree
Write the UTC time for every record. Then order the letters from earliest to latest. Mission elapsed 109:00:00 aligns with 02:32:00 UTC.
| Record | UTC time | How was it found? |
|---|---|---|
| A | ||
| B | ||
| C | ||
| D | ||
| E |
1 / Sequence
Record letters, earliest → latest:
2 / The television wait
How much time passed from the first clear television picture to the first step? Show minutes and seconds.
3 / A longer interval
How much time passed from the hatch opening to the start of sample collection?
4 / What does the record show?
A clear picture and a first step have different times. Explain why a television picture alone would not prove that a person had already stepped onto the surface.
2 / WORKING SHEET · Honest Little Apps · Keep the separate answer sheet aside until the reasoning is complete.
MOONWALK CLOCK DESK / SHEET 3 OF 3 / ANSWERS
Check the clocks, then the claim
| Order | Record | UTC time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | D · Hatch | 02:39:33 |
| 2 | B · Porch | 02:51:16 |
| 3 | E · TV picture | 02:54:00 |
| 4 | C · First step | 02:56:15 |
| 5 | A · Sample | 03:05:58 |
Conversions: B is 19 minutes 16 seconds after the alignment, so 02:32:00 + 00:19:16 = 02:51:16. C is 24 minutes 15 seconds after it, so 02:32:00 + 00:24:15 = 02:56:15. A, D and E already use UTC.
The television wait: 2 minutes 15 seconds. From 02:54:00 to 02:56:00 is two minutes; add fifteen seconds.
Hatch to sample: 26 minutes 25 seconds. From 02:39:33 to 03:00:00 is 20 minutes 27 seconds. Add 5 minutes 58 seconds: 25 minutes 85 seconds, which is 26 minutes 25 seconds.
Evidence boundary: the record separates a broadcast image arriving from a person making contact with the surface. The earlier picture does not, by itself, establish the later step. These are recorded timeline entries; they are not the planned schedule.
Source and method
Times checked against NASA’s Apollo 11 timeline on 6 November 2026. NASA labels its date/time columns GMT; this activity presents those clock readings as UTC. The alignment is derived from the timeline’s elapsed and civil-time columns. Event wording is paraphrased; no NASA endorsement is implied.
Source: nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/static/history/SP-4029/Apollo_11i_Timeline.htm
Another history investigation
PastRush: History Detective offers chronology and source-comparison investigations on iPhone. Six investigations are free; six more are included in the optional one-time Founder Lifetime purchase. This moonwalk activity is separate from the app’s case collection.
apps.apple.com/us/app/pastrush-history-detective/id6818795908
3 / EXPLAINED KEY · Honest Little Apps · Original activity and arrangement. Source facts credited above. No account or installation required.