Apollo 11: Pioneering Humanity's Cosmic Leap

In the 1900’s space flight was just a topic of the future. But on June 20th, 1969 the US successfully landed a crew of men on the surface of the moon. The moon landing, Apollo 11 is considered one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of mankind. The purpose of the moon mission was to beat the Soviet Union in the space race which president at the time, John F. Kennedy made sure of. With the Soviets attempting to reach the moon USA’s finest scientists got together and through NASA accomplished this amazing achievement.

To many the moon landing may not seem like a great accomplishment but in all reality it was the beginning of a whole new era of technology that allowed us to be one step closer to future technology. (www.space.com / Apollo 11 First Men on the Moon)

The US was the first to ever send a man to the moon and bring him back successfully, but what really triggered the “Space War” was the fact that Soviets had already sent 2 spaceships in space and one which landed on the moon, 10 years prior to Apollo 11.

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While the war with the Soviets was still happening and talk of nuclear warfare was being tossed around American leaders wanted to show the world what they could do. The United States were trailing the Soviets in space developments and Cold War-era America allowed JFK to attempt his proposal of landing a man on the moon. It took a team of NASA scientists and engineers 5 years to test the first unmanned Apollo mission.

(www.historyplace.com / Apollo 11) January 1967, NASA was in testing of their 7th Apollo mission, Apollo 7. This mission ended tragically when a fire broke out during a manned launch test that killed three astronauts. Although the Apollo 7 tragedy was a setback NASA still fought on and in October of 1968 they launched the first manned mission, which orbited Earth. After Apollo 7 there were another three manned missions to test all the technology needed for the lunar landing.

Finally, 9 years after JFK’s proposal Apollo 11 was ready for launch. The crew of astronauts on this mission was, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Once the space shuttle took off it traveled 240,000 miles in 72 hours. The men orbited around the moon for a day and then Armstrong and Aldrin got into the lunar module named “Eagle” and began their decent to the surface of the moon. Once on the surface Armstrong radioed back to NASA saying a famous message, “The Eagle has landed.” With millions of people listening to the Lunar Mission, Armstrong began his decent out of the lunar module and spoke his famous quote, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” After collecting moon rocks and taking photos of the moon, also planting the American flag the astronauts mission was complete. The mission was a success and the men traveled back to Earth. USA had successfully landed a man on the moon and returned him safely, beating the Soviets in the Space Race. (www.Nasa.gov / Apollo 11 Mission)

Of course the moon landing did not help defeat the USA’s enemies in the war but what it did do was bring a new belief to all Americans and also the world. What the moon landing did was set off a new era of technology, which would help in all aspects of life or study in the following years to come. The astronauts brought back moons rocks which scientist studied and gave them never before seen data about our moon. Also this moon landing showed the world the real potential of man and that anything is possible with hard work and belief. The moon landing was literally turning science fiction into reality and also giving Americans something to feel proud about. It made men like Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin legends in their own time being the first men to ever walk on the moon and setting a very high bar for all other competitors. America finally showed its worth against the Soviets and proved that one of the most famous presidents (Kennedy) was right for believing in America. (www.archive.wired.com / 10 Reasons Apollo 11 Was Awesome)

When talking about an event that has changed humanity one topic for sure has to be the Apollo 11 moon landing. It did not only advance technology but also helped change the world. With millions of people tuning in for the mission all over the world people were being amazed with what was being accomplished. Even after all these years it is still an amazing feeling knowing that we as humans have advanced our technology so much to the point where we can not only leave our own planet but also return. I believe you don’t have to be a science nerd to appreciate Apollo 11, because it was not meant for just a certain type of person it was meant to touch everyone’s hearts in someway and give them new standards in life.

References

• Astronomy Picture of the Day: Tranquility Base Panorama Moonset - NASA
• Apollo 11 - Britannica