re: Apollo 11 splashes down in Pacific - 50 years ago today

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I've always wondered... Why did they aim for water?

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I'll give you my take.

With water being softer than land, the crew can absorb a "faster" touchdown in the ocean than on land. So that means a few things.. maybe one less parachute, maybe smaller parachutes, so that is built in redundancy/protection, to some extent.

Also, with us having a worldwide Navy, replete with numerous Carrier Groups available (unlike the Soviet Union had, certainly not to that extent), the Russian's choice of land landings and our choice of sea landings, makes sense in that regard.