Arizona engineer recalls building Apollo 11 system as Artemis II continues moon mission

Apollo engineer who worked on Neil Armstrong's mission hopeful for Artemis II

The man who helped design Neil Armstrong's communication link with Earth is reflecting on his role in making history as NASA hopes to returns humans to the moon. FOX 10's Jacob Luthi hears more from the Arizona engineer recalling that mission. 

PHOENIX - Astronauts landed on the moon more than 50 years ago, and a Valley man was a big part of that mission— linking Arizona to a piece of history in the first and next eras of lunar exploration.

Local perspective:

When Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon in 1969, the world heard his words thanks in part to an antenna designed by an Arizona engineer. As NASA’s Artemis program eventually aims to return humans to the moon, that 93-year-old engineer is reflecting on his role in making history.

When Mel Allen was just 36 years old, he was working for Motorola when his team built the antenna mounted on Armstrong’s backpack during the Apollo 11 moon landing. This small but critical piece of technology helped transmit the first words spoken from the lunar surface to the largest TV audience of its time.

Allen helped build 20 of these antennas but kept two for him and a coworker. Allen wasn’t at Mission Control; he watched history unfold from a Mississippi motel room, even recording the moment on 8mm film as Walter Cronkite narrated.

What they're saying:

The University of Arizona graduate still vividly recalls the mission, proud of the role he played in connecting the world to one giant leap for mankind.

"It’s amazing what has been accomplished in the last 50 years," Allen said. "When everything turned out to be successful made me feel very good... and I still feel good about what I did at that time."