missing breaker was labeled ENG ARM, “Engine Arm,” one of the most important switches in the Eagle. The checklist simply displayed a picture of the breakers: black = in; white = out. While we were stationary on the surface, it was perfectly safe for this breaker to be out, but the Eagle was designed so it is impossible to descend to the Moon with that circuit breaker pressed in, and it is impossible to get off the Moon with it popped out. This circuit was crucial to send the electrical current to light the ascent engine that would lift us off the Moon. Because the breaker was located on my side of the capsule, I had apparently bumped it with the heavy backpack either preparing to step outside or when we had come back inside after walking on the Moon.
As soon as I discovered the broken circuit breaker, we called Mission Control to inform them. We missed a golden opportunity to use the classic line immortalized by astronaut Jack Swigert a few years later, when he said, “Houston, we’ve had a problem here,” as the crew encountered difficulties after an explosion on board Apollo 13, the mission commanded by Jim Lovell. Rather than landing on the Moon, the entire crew of Apollo 13 was forced to cram into the lunar landing module for the return flight home.
Although Neil and I didn’t say it that way, we certainly did have a problem, but it wasn’t ours alone; we figured it was Houston’s problem, too, so they told us to go to sleep while they worked on a solution. They were hoping to somehow reroute the power to that absolutely essential circuit. Neil and I tried to get some sleep while the experts back on Earth debated what to do.
We checked in again six hours later. “Unfortunately,” Mission Control informed us, “there is no way to reroute the power.” The conclusion from the experts working on the problem in Houston was that we would have to push something in to activate the circuit.
We moved the time of pushing the breaker to two hours earlier on our flight schedule; we wanted to make sure the circuit would function while we still had some time to adapt. Houston said, “We’ll just have to try it.” If the circuit breaker didn’t work, we could wait another two hours while Mike Collins orbited the Moon again, giving Mission Control more time to find a way to get us off the lunar surface. I wasn’t really too worried about what might happen if the breaker didn’t work. I chose to spend my time doing what we could do to fix the problem, and of course, Neil and I were relying on a great team of experts back on Earth.
I didn’t want to push in the breaker with my pinky finger, or with a ballpoint pen, or anything metal—not with all that electrical power flowing into that circuit. But in our personal preference kits, I had included a plastic felt-tip pen. It wasn’t on the official list of items we took to the Moon, but I now had that pen in the shoulder pocket of my space suit.
I gingerly pressed the pen against the engine arm circuit breaker. For a long moment, I didn’t want to remove the tip from the circuit breaker, hoping against hope that it would hold. Slowly, almost reluctantly, I eased the pressure on my hand and lifted the pen’s tip.
The pen did the trick; the circuit breaker held. We could return to Earth, after all!
EVEN WITH ALL THE YEARS OF careful planning and training, something so small, like breaking the one circuit breaker that we needed to lift off the Moon to come home, could have derailed our plans. But with a little outside-the-box thinking and some simple improvisation, we were able to fix the problem, rendezvous with Mike, and return to Earth. Not panicking helps, too. That’s why, all these years later, when people ask me what it “felt” like walking on the Moon, I usually answer, “Fighter pilots don’t have feelings; we have ice water running in our veins.”
When under pressure, you must remain focused on the immediate task in front of you, regardless of the distractions around you. Unfortunately, mistakes or accidents sometimes happen, even after the best preparation. To appropriately respond to an emergency requires a clear mind and the ability to analyze a situation and do what is necessary to fix it or make it better. Fear and