The Space Race: Landing On The Moon

The main purpose of John F. Kennedy 's speech “We Choose to go to the Moon” was to gain the support of the American people. He did this by pointing out why it was important to be the first ones to reach the moon with a man. Kennedy addresses many things that the United States has quickly and efficiently succeeded at, he then goes on to compare these successes to getting a man on the moon. The president also brings up how they are very close to obtaining the goal and that they just need the funding to make it happen. He continues on to make a powerful comparison between how

John F. Kennedy once said, "No nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space...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”. The main motive for this quote was to ensure that the United States wanted to beat out the Soviets in the space race. Ever since the Soviets tried to advance on the moon, the United States wanted to be the first successful nation to accomplish the first ever moon landing. At the time, the tension between the United States and the Soviets was very strong because the Cold War just ended and neither nation wanted to lose to each other in the space race. Just as the

In addition to initiating a space race between the two current superpowers, the Sputnik spacecraft launch also had alarming military implications. The Sputnik satellites used intercontinental ballistic missiles that were initially used for their thrust capabilities but could theatrically be capable of flying from the Soviet Union to United States military targets in less than an hour—cutting the flight time to a fraction of a conventional bomber aircraft. In response to the launch of Sputnik, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. The act created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) . To prevent the rise of Soviet dominance in military matters, Eisenhower also established the Advanced Research Projects Agency, a division of the U.S. Department of Defense. This was symbolic of a serious revelation of the standing of the scientific and technological capabilities of America in comparison to other countries, and also led to President Eisenhower issuing a proclamation to increase funding for education in America in science and engineering to combat this widening deficit. The quick Soviet lead in the newly emerging space race caused much panic, which shaped American foreign policy for the following decade(Document E). An example is avoiding “an all-out war with China” for fear of having to combat communism on two fronts.(Document

Those inspiring words of the first man on the moon sure have made their mark in history. Not only did Apollo 11, the first successful mission in landing man on the moon, affect future space discovery, it impacted the world, by helping people understand how much they can be capable. For those reasons , putting man on the moon was and still is a significant moment to this day for all people.

Kennedy traveled the country during the early 1960s advocating for the National Aeronautics and Space Agency. On September 12th, 1962, he delivered the “Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort” at the Rice Stadium, in Houston, Texas, the home of NASA’s mission control. He began the speech by thanking the Vice President, Lyndon B. Johnson, and the President of Rice University, Kenneth Pitzer. He commends Rice University for its knowledge, progress and strength and advocates for these virtues nationwide. JFK alludes to the Space Race by saying “the greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds" (John F. Kennedy). He speaks of advances made throughout history including the wheel, printing press, steam engine, electricity, telephones, automobiles, planes and penicillin. He compares the past 50,000 years of to half a century to prove the amount of advancement that has occurred over a relatively short amount of time. He comments “this country was founded by those who move forward - and so will space.” (John F. Kennedy). JFK explains that we choose to go to the moon because it is a necessary challenge and part of our goal to lead as a nation. He highlights how close we are to achieving such goals by mentioning the testing of a Saturn C-1 booster rocket, the Saturn missile, satellites and the Mariner spacecraft. JFK points out that the space industry has created new jobs for Americans and puts the space budget in perspective by showing it is less that the annual spending on cigarettes and cigars. JFK concludes with a quote from Mt. Everest climber George Mallory who responded "Because it is there," when asked why he wanted to climb the mountain. JFK states, “Well, space is there and we're going to climb it." (John F. Kennedy) He ends by asking for God's blessing on the journey and thanking his

I’d say we’ve all heard of JFK’s famous speech, “The Decision To Go To The Moon,” which he gave at Rice University on May 25th, 1961 to an audience of 35,000 people. This speech is one that marks the sixties, as JFK had just been elected and was rallying the people to support the space movement. Many Americans doubted they could beat or even catch up to Russia in the space race. So, his speech focuses on convincing Americans that they should support the US government’s movement to get a man on the moon before the Soviet Union.

Before the causes and results of Kennedy’s decision to land on the moon can be adequately analyzed and discussed, it is necessary to understand the context of his time as President and the events that preceded it. Therefore, I will provide a small amount of context about the Cold War and the situation leading up to Kennedy’s “We choose to go to the moon” speech on September 12, 1962. (Citation).

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.

It was on July 20, 1969 that Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon, and said his most famous words, "That 's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." 45 years later NASA calls the Apollo 11 missions one of the crowning achievements of the 20th century. Started after President Kennedy’s speech to send a man to the moon, NASA had to play catch up in order to beat the Soviet Union and become the first country to land a man on the moon.

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

"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," said by Neil Armstrong as he took his first steps on the moon during the NASA Apollo 11 expedition to the moon. No man has ever been to the moon before and NASA, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was the first to get someone to land on the moon. NASA has had many great accomplishments in exploring the "new frontier" that have affected the United States ever since it was first created in July 1958. The idea for NASA first started when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite on October 4, 1957. United States started up its own space travel program and started to work on its own projects that would be better in than the Soviet Union's. This all started the great

The reasons why President Kennedy wants to send Americans to the moon by the end of 1961. The invention has not been invented yet, he believes that our leadership in science and industry and the hope for peace, and security people had it was their obligations to ourselves as well as others, all this require a lot of effort to solve for the good men that were going to be the world's leading space- fairing nation. President Kennedy believe that they were capable of standing heat and stress for several times more than the finest watch, carrying, all the equipment needed for propulsion ,guidance control, and the communications they need in order to send Americans to the moon. He says that this big was challenge because they needed to work together

In October 1957, the Russians launched Sputnik and that started the race to the moon. The Russians were well ahead of Americans back in the 1960's in terms of the advanced technology they had. They were so close to taking off but then America decides to spontaneously land on the moon. President John F. Kennedy thought it was important that the United States win the race to the moon. On September 12, 1962, at Rice University, President Kennedy made a

"That's one small step for a man. One giant leap for mankind. " These Iconic words where uttered by Neil Armstrong in 1969 when he became the first man to walk on the moon. These words were televised to millions of viewers, yet there are people that doubt whether or not the moon landing happened at all.

In John F. Kennedy’s “Moon Speech at Rice Stadium,” he has a positive tone. His purpose was to encourage Americans to keep striving to be the first to the moon. Kennedy is hoping to make America feel the need to be the first in space by