Apollo Missions: 50 Years Of Americans In Space

As for the humanities lens, we will be looking at the philosophical question, why do we, as the human race peruse space exploration.

We as a human race are mentally programed to explore the unknown whether it is sneaking out into the woods behind your house as a child or going up into the depths of space. Curiosity is what allows us to think outside the box, and when we expand out of our comfort zones we discover things that help advance our race as a whole. There was once a time when space exploration was just a science fictional thought – humans were never expected to pass through Earth’s atmosphere. It all began during the Cold War, when different counties began competing with each other. The race resulted in numerous satellite launchings and the mission that brought man onto the moon; Apollo 11. This inspired so many in the rising generation to pursue careers in science

America’s space program is undoubtedly one of its greatest modern achievements. Few people cannot recall the famous quote “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” or do not know where it came from. The story leading up to the moment a man walked on the moon, as well as everything that came after, is just as interesting and important as the moment itself. The significance of the history of America’s aeronautics programs cannot possibly be overestimated, and their story is one that is incredibly important to the modern world of today. It would not be the nation that it is, with the technology it possesses, without its crucial involvement in the “space race”. If the technology that sent a man to the moon did not exist, our daily lives would be impacted and basic tools would be missing. Beginning with America’s first official aeronautics organization, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (or NACA) and continuing through to the present day and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (or NASA), the story of America’s aerospace programs is interesting and extremely important. It is a story that spans many years and giant leaps in technology, and involves important locations like Wallops Flight Facility and Kennedy Space Center. From the early beginnings of NACA and Wallops, and continuing on to the rise and success of NASA and Kennedy Space Center, aeronautics

The Apollo 11 mission was one of the most significant events in the space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. after the USSR launched Sputnik, the first satellite, and successfully sent a man into space, America rushed to develop the technology that the Soviets already had, prompting the creation of the Apollo program. Apollo 11 was a mission to complete the first manned lunar landing. The mission was considered a great success, and was a win for the United States in the Space Race. The Apollo 11 mission had a crew of three men: Neil Armstrong, the commander, Buzz Aldrin, the lunar module pilot, and Michael Collins, the Command module pilot. All three men had previous experience in space on various Gemini missions. Armstrong

The impossible was reached on July 20th 1969 when we sent the first man on the moon. The Apollo missions are the largest and most well known explorations that NASA has conducted. Ever since we reached this new high, our curiosity of space has grown even bigger. Funding NASA’s space program even further will continue to help us amplify our available resources and discover new information to benefit humanity. Not only that, but it could provide many ways for us to find a new home and expand our species farther into our solar system, potentially saving future generations. The expansion of this space program would be able to answer more of our questions than from what we can find here on Earth. Although there

The moon landing mission marked a new technological era for the United States. This amazing feat ushered in an age of pride and intelligence for the American people that swept across the nation. This fateful success gave birth to America’s interest in space and buried itself into our very culture and our long and adventurous history. The Apollo 11’s successful mission has also greatly affected current technologies today. In order to further understand the mission’s impact, research on the Apollo 11 mission’s preparation, the mission itself, and the technologies it impacted, is needed.

The Apollo missions began because of political reasons not scientific reasons. There was a total of 12 astronauts that explored the moon. There were six different landing sites and they were located in the central part of the moon. This means there is much more of the moon to explore. They spent twelve and a half cumulative days on the surface of the moon, 3.4 were spent outside. Because of the different Apollo missions there we much has been discovered. Because of the studies, of the craters they were able to determine the age of the moon. They were able to learn about core and crust formation. The moon has many similarities to the earth. Through seismology studies they discovered that the moon has moonquakes like the earth has earthquakes

And through that, we created a new frontier, a new goal. We reached beyond our planet. “We explore for the benefit of all human kind,” Jody Singer, deputy director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville and a 1983 graduate of UA’s industrial engineering program, said. “This country, this nation, this world has always been explorers. It's really the heart of who we are and what we do. It inspires us to look around the next corner. It inspires us to try to understand. We'll always have that inquisitive mind.”

Picture a typical 5th grade class at a career day. The young boys and girls are full of jitters and excitement to learn about the future careers of their choice. Some will choose the typical banker or lawyer approach, but what about the child who dreams to be an astronaut? Is this a realistic goal? Is there even a need for space exploration in today’s world? The answer is yes. Space Exploration is still central to discovering the vast universe.

For my research activity, I chose the Apollo Missions. The NASA space program is a topic that has always been interesting to me, so I took the time to look a little deeper into some of the facts outside of the more famous near disaster that occurred on Apollo 13.

As humans, a necessary part of our psyche is exploration. However, numerous trials are confronted when it comes to space exploration. While it remains vital that humans explore this great expansion, one must consider the issues that occur. After all, what is more important, space exploration, or our continued existence?

from Neil Armstrong as he stepped foot on the moon. But it all started on May 5, 1961

The U.S. space program began in a country very far from the United States. In fact, the program’s roots were seeded in Germany during WWII. A young German man by the name of Werner von Braun became obsessed with rocketry and space travel after reading numerous books by Jules Verne and Hermann Oberth. He completed a Ph.D. in physics and went to work for the German Army developing ballistic missiles. Dr. von Braun’s most notable contribution to WWII was his V-2 rocket. The V-2 was a liquid fueled rocket standing 46 feet tall and carrying a ton of explosives. It was capable of traveling to the outer reaches of the Earth’s atmosphere before returning to its target. After the end of WWII numerous countries saw the military and civilian applications of the V-2 and therefore, sought to capture the technology. While both Russia and the U.S. captured parts of the V-2, the U.S. got the most important part, Werner von Braun. Operation Paperclip was a covert operation towards the end of the war conducted by U.S. and British Special Forces with the main objective of capturing German scientists. In all, 1,600 German scientists and workers were captured and brought back to the U.S. and Great Britain. Among the captured scientists was Werner von Braun. He was brought to the White Sands Proving Grounds in New Mexico where he worked on developing the first ballistic missile, the Redstone rocket. Eventually, Dr. von Braun would go on to lead the U.S. space program.

The twentieth century brought about a host of new technologies in the United States. Some would argue that all new inventions are a triumph of human ingenuity and should be utilized no matter the cost. However, there is evidence to suggest that these inventions, and the promise of future ones, have narrowed the gaze of the American people. New technologies of the twentieth century are beneficial in and of themselves. But those in power have used them unwisely, picking and choosing what to fund in order to benefit the ruling elite, and in doing so have accentuated the innate selfishness of humankind.

This saying by Frank Borman fits best when we discuss the U.S. Space Exploration program. Historically, this program has been inspirational for many people across the globe. At the same time, it is been heavily criticized for being the most expensive research project. Although Bush administration and the current government is ardent supporter of the program, previously NASA has failed to produce the best possible outcome because of lack proper funding and appropriate leadership. The new Obama regime has intended to establish a balanced civilian space program and by law has made NASA accountable for all its actions. Government interest in space exploration has a political reason but we should analyze the impact of space exploration on the lives of ordinary people. The arguments in favor of this study are been misrepresented because of understudy on the topic. If we analyze the benefits of space exploration, we come across the following ideas;