Essay on The History of the Apollo Missions

Scientific Capability.” (Tennessean) People today are not as excited about going to other places in space. Human space travel has been stunted by recent political changes in America. With that, the people that actually want to go to other places in space mainly want to see humans go somewhere new. Some people want other things to go in place of humans. “Unlike robots, only people have the intelligence and expert knowledge needed to unravel these mysteries.” (Mindell) If humans don’t go to other places in the solar system, this takes away the experience and awe of knowing that people can go to amazing places like the moon and Mars. While I think robots and technology should be used in exploration of space. I think it’s important to keep the human element involved directly. So people can see that nothing is quite impossible.

“That’s one small step for man but one giant leap for mankind.”-Neil Armstrong. This one step of a man could lead to futuristic achievements for technology and space exploration. “In Event of Moon Disaster,” by William Safire, expresses the “what if” scenario. Safire writes this speech for President Nixon incase there was an event of disaster. The purpose is meant for Armstrong and

On May 25, 1961 President John F. Kennedy paved the way for the world’s first lunar landing when he announced the US’s ambitious goal to place an American on the moon before the end of the decade. This historic announcement was fueled by desires to beat the Soviet Union, and show the United State’s dominance, the need for a uniting cause among the American people, and a desire to lead the world in the scientific field.

Shepard Jr. is the first American man to be launched into space. He was in the Mercury space capsule in a 15 minute suborbital mission (meaning it reaches the atmosphere and falls back on Earth). John H. Glenn Jr. became the first American to orbit Earth on February 20, 1962. After Project Mercury, Project Gemini started. Gemini 4's, Edward H. White Jr. conducted the first spacewalk (when an astronaut get’s out the space vehicle). Project Apollo began to be NASA’S priority in May 25, 1951. President John F. Kennedy announced the plan of launching a man in space to land on the Moon. He used this as a tool to subtly announce the US’s superiority of the Cold War enemies. It took 11 years to carry out. It took $25.4 billion dollars to achieve. This withstood challenges including lives of Roger B. Chaffee, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, and Edward H. White Jr. Jr. after a fire that took place in the Apollo capsule (January 27, 1967). October 1968 they launched different Apollo missions such as Apollo 7 (orbit earth) and Apollo 8 (orbit moon). July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong steps foot on the Moon after Apollo 11 landed with Edwin E. Buzz Aldrin Jr. Michael Collins remained in the capsule. Apollo 13 almost launched however the oxygen tank exploded. Harrison H. Jack Schmitt was a geologist that was chosen to become an astronaut. NASA and the Soviet Union allied to make the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). It served testing purposes and the crew launched separately,

Wow, can you believe it has almost been 50 years since the Space Race. It is just unbelievable, and we still travel to space today. One of the traffic accomplishments we did, was that we were the first to land a man on the moon. It sparked an uprising, and gave our nation great pride. But, in the end, it's thanks to the chivalrous astronauts, the perilous mission, and their legacy, that we succeeded.

The mission was a cold war movement, in which was an achievement that fulfilled the announcement made by president John F. Kennedy. Kennedy proposed that NASA could overtake the pioneering Russian space program and put a man on the moon. Not only was the landing on the moon by the astronauts important but also was the returning of the astronauts safely. But this journey was nothing but easy to conduct. The astronauts and crew members had to deal with certain difficulties that happened within the spacecraft while trying to accomplish the mission.

In 1961, the United States of America was embroiled in the Cold War with the Soviet Union. This confrontation was taking place not only on land, sea and air, but in space as well. On May 25th, 1961 recently elected US President John F. Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress, during which he outlined his now famous Man on the Moon challenge. It was through this ambitious dream that the creation of the National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA) came about, which President Kennedy challenged to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Although he didn't live to see the achievement of his dreams, the United States successfully landed Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on the moon on July 20, 1969 and

President Kennedy said, “We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”

He did not think that it was necessary to fund NASA with the money needed to develop the three-man capsule designed for longer flights that was needed to reach the moon. His goal was to simply restore American pride and nothing more. Thankfully, President John F. Kennedy had a different idea. After taking office, President Kennedy felt the pressure to overtake the Soviets in the space race, and because of this, he declared that within the decade, the U.S. would land a man on the moon. He knew that NASA was in jeopardy of losing the funding needed to make it to the moon, so he set out on a campaign to save Project Apollo and remind Americans that the U.S. is number one in the world and needs to remain number one. In Houston Texas on September 12, 1962 he said, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others

During the 1960s the superpowers of the world Russia and the US were in great tension during the space race. And the finish line was the moon. The race ended on July 20, 1969 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and Neal Armstrong took the historical first steps on the moon. During the Apollo missions many questions were asked from is it even possible? To. Can man walk on the moon or is there not enough gravity so they would just float off in space? But through much research and great people. Some things I learned from my research was there were 2 other mission before the Apollo missions ever started. The mercury missions and the Gemini mission. The purpose of the mercury missions was to put a man in space and the purpose of Gemini was to test

The Apollo Space program was developed to enable man to walk on the moon. The lessons learned from the two previous NASA programs, Mercury and Gemini were instrumental in gaining the ability to meet that goal. The impetus for this goal was President Kennedy’s speech to Congress in 1961 that we must have an American sent to the moon and safely back home by the end of that decade. The Soviet Union had already sent a man into space, and there were national security fears because of the cold war.  What NASA scientists wanted to know from the Mercury program was could humans survive in space for an extended period of time. Through the Gemini program, they found answers to questions about orbital maneuvers, docking techniques, and spacewalks. Apollo

In the 1960s the U.S. raced the Soviet Union to the moon determining which is the dominant nation. Apollo 11 was the first successful manned mission to the moon. Our first astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, played an important role in this mission. Having to be in space for about a week and pilot the spacecraft safely to the moon and back to Earth was a dangerous mission. With little time to pass Armstrong and Aldrin had to record their first steps on the moon, take close and far away pictures of the moon, and collect large samples of lunar material. Apollo 11’s success expressed the U.S.’s superiority over the Soviet Union.

When it comes to exploring new horizons there is always an inherent danger that comes with it. Whether it was Christopher Columbus and his venture to the new world, Lewis and Clark and there exploration of the American west, or the Astronauts who were the first to travel where no man had gone before. All of these people accepted the risk that comes with the adventure they were embarking on. The Apollo program was the world’s most ambitious project ever taken on. When John F. Kennedy proposed the idea of placing a man moon by the end of the 1960’s this was an extremely bold ultimatum too all of those involved in the space program. As we all know NASA achieved the goal when Apollo 11 landed on the moon in 1969. After America had accomplished this goal and beat the Soviet Union to the moon and then repeated the result on Apollo 12, Americans began to question why there tax dollars were being used to fund something after the goal had already been accomplished. And then came the near disaster of Apollo 13 that re-ignited American interest in space travel. Apollo 13 was a successful failure, while it did not achieve its goal of landing on the moon, it showed how good NASA’s people as well as their space crafts were, in that they were able to return the crew safely after such a catastrophic failure on the space craft, which was the NASA’s finest hour.

July 16th, 1969. It’s a peaceful morning at Cape Canaveral with pleasant temperatures and little wind. All is calm. Suddenly, a tremendous roar shatters the morning as the crew of Apollo 11 blast off toward the moon, riding the biggest rocket ever created. Burning 20 tons of explosive fuel a second, it propels Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins into history. The spacecraft lands four days later on the moon. Millions watched as men took the first steps on a strange place 238,900 miles away, or 9 and ½ times around the earth. After placing America’s flag among the lunar rocks, the Apollo 11 crew lit their engines and headed for the small blue sphere we call home, splashing down safely in the ocean and completing Kennedy’s

Mankind has always been fascinated with exploring the unknown. From sailing to distant lands to someday setting foot on other planets, the spirit of exploration is the same. Bur now with the current economic situation and the high cost of sending people to space, NASA is being looked at as a way to free up some much needed funds. Although, there is many problems here on planet Earth that need addressing, the benefits of space exploration far out weight the disadvantages. Space exploration has given us more advanced technology, advances in the medical field, and a boost to the economy and these facts cannot be disputed.