Science is constantly evolving and so is the field of space exploration. We live in a time where serious discussions regarding human migration to the moon and Mars are taking place. All of this was first inspired by the mission through which humans landed on the moon for the first time.
On July 20, 1969, a spacecraft called Apollo 11 landed American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.) on the Moon. Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon and Buzz Aldrin became the second. With this achievement, the United States became a major force to reckon with, in the field of space exploration.
Armstrong and Aldrin took photos, collected samples, conducted investigations on the area where they landed, planted the American flag on the lunar surface, and spoke with the US President of the time, Richard Nixon, via Mission Control in Houston, Texas.
A total of 12 men have landed on the Moon through six missions of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), spread across 41 months, from Apollo 11 in 1969 to Apollo 17 in 1972.
Let us learn more about the Apollo 11 mission that landed humans on the Moon for the first time in history.
Manned mission
Apollo 11, NASA’s manned mission to the Moon, was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on July 16, 1969, carrying Commander Neil Armstrong, Lunar Pilot Edwin Aldrin, and Command Module pilot Michael Collins.
After travelling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 entered the lunar orbit on July 19. The next day, Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the Moon. According to History.com, nineteen minutes later, Edwin Aldrin joined Armstrong on the Moon’s surface. Michael Collins, who took control of the spacecraft and remained inside, never set foot on the Moon.
As Neil Armstrong descended from the spacecraft, a camera mounted on a ladder recorded images of the landing on the Moon and sent signals to the Earth. According to Space.com, when he set foot on the moon, Neil Armstrong spoke to the world through his microphone: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Armstrong and Aldrin took photos, collected samples, conducted investigations on the area where they landed, planted the American flag on the lunar surface, and spoke with the US President of the time, Richard Nixon, via Mission Control in Houston, Texas.
In 1959, the Soviet Union launched the Luna 2 spacecraft to the Moon, showing that the Soviet Union was one step ahead in the space race.
Also, Armstrong and Aldrin left behind a patch honouring the fallen crew of Apollo 1 and a plaque on the surface of the moon. The inscription on the plaque reads: “Here men from planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”
The voyage back to Earth began on July 22. The three astronauts landed safely in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.
Space race spurred by Cold War
The Apollo 11 mission could also be considered as a product of the Cold War, which began in 1947 and went on till 1991. The space race between the two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union and the United States, took place in order to establish superiority in terms of spaceflight capability. The Cold War had its origins in the arms race between the two nations following World War II.
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched the man-made satellite, Sputnik. According to The Atlantic, the launch was interpreted as a serious threat to the national security of the United States.
The following year, in 1958, the United States launched an artificial satellite. In the same year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was formed to oversee US space exploration and aeronautics research.
In 1959, the Soviet Union launched the Luna 2 spacecraft to the Moon, showing that the Soviet Union was one step ahead in the space race. The country then attempted to make human spaceflight a reality.
In April 1961, the Soviet Union launched the Vostok 1 spacecraft into low-Earth orbit and succeeded in making Yuri Gagarin, the first man to travel into space and orbit the Earth. The following month, the United States launched an American named Alan Shepherd into space. However, he could not orbit the Earth on this spaceflight.
When the space race was going on in full swing, according to History.com, on May 25, 1961, US President John F. Kennedy raised the stakes. He stated: “I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.”
This was when America’s efforts to send humans to the moon began. NASA successfully launched the first unmanned spacecraft to the Moon in 1966 – this was to identify the structural integrity of the launch vehicle and the spacecraft.
On January 27, 1967, the Apollo 1 spacecraft and Saturn rocket caught fire at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, killing three astronauts.
Despite these setbacks, NASA continued its mission. In October 1968, the manned spacecraft Apollo 7 successfully orbited the Earth and tested the systems required for lunar orbit and landing.
In December 1968, Apollo 8 carried three astronauts to distant parts of the Moon. In March 1969, Apollo 9 was launched to test the lunar module for lunar orbit operations for the first moon landing.
In 1969 itself, Apollo 10 was launched with three astronauts. Essentially a ‘dress rehearsal’ for the first Moon landing, Apollo 10 orbited the Moon 31 times and returned safely to the Earth.
On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 was successfully launched, and it is considered to be a giant leap for mankind, when humans first set foot on the Earth’s only natural satellite.
Following the success of Apollo 11, NASA went on to land a total of 12 humans on the moon in six missions. From 1960 to 1973, the United States spent about $28 billion on manned missions to the Moon.
The United States is so far the only country to have landed humans on the Moon. According to Nasa’s official website, after the 1972 Apollo 17 mission, NASA had announced a new mission to land the first woman and a person of colour on the Moon.
Visiting the Moon gave humanity the first glimpses of how our planet was created, a ball of floating rock drifting listlessly through space. The samples gathered from the satellite helped decipher what the Moon was, what it was made of and how it got there. Just like Armstrong said, this mission was a giant leap for the mankind.
Now put on your thinking hats and think about the following questions for a couple of minutes.
Can you think of how the success of Apollo mission influenced the Cold War?
How would you describe the significance of the Apollo mission in the study of moon?
Write down your thoughts and discuss them with your students, children, and your colleagues. Listen to their views and compare them with your own. As you listen to others, note how similar or different your views are to others’.
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Happy Teaching!
Man on the Moon: One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind