Why were Apollo Astronauts weightless?

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I understand why astronauts orbiting the earth are weightless since they are in constant freefall. But why are the astronauts who went to the moon weightless?

I imagine that as you accelerate away from the earth towards the moon, you are no longer falling but are instead climbing. Intuitively, I think that this would give you some kind of gravity. Coming back I would think that you are constantly falling towards the earth, so I understand how the return journey would be weightless.

In: Physics