YOU ARE LOUD AND CLEAR:
MISSION CONTROL
Mission Control is responsible for getting astronauts to space and back home safely. Inside the Mission Operation Control Room, men and women collect and transmit data to follow the astronauts’ journey and send commands to the spacecraft. They are the astronauts’ contact on Earth and speak to the crew constantly to make sure that the mission is going according to plan.
During the Gemini and Apollo missions, Mission Control was located in the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Today, we have recordings of the communications between Mission Control and the astronauts during these historic missions. When they spoke to each other, they used specific words to communicate messages quickly. Let’s take a look at the words below.
Houston - Mission Control in Houston, Texas
Tranquility Base - the site on the Moon where the Apollo 11 crew landed
Eagle - the nickname for the Lunar Module during the Apollo 11 mission
Roger - I understand
Standby - Wait a moment
Copy - I received the message
Out - This is the end of the transmission. You do not need to reply
You are loud and clear - I can hear you perfectly
Affirmative- Yes
Negative - No
GO - Ready to begin
Attitude - the orientation of the spacecraft
Roll - the movement of the nose of the spacecraft when it rolls from one side to another
Pitch - the movement of the nose of the spacecraft up and down
Yaw - the movement of the nose of the spacecraft from side to side
Thrust - The power from the engine that moves the rocket up through the air