"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" (Kennedy). When John F. Kennedy said these famous words, he set the stage for one of the greatest accomplishments the United States of America has ever made. Over the course of that decade, the space race would be in full swing; a universal goal would unite the nation to achieve the dream of sending a man to the moon and safely back to earth. Through human determination, the United States made enough scientific breakthroughs to alter events back on planet earth. In one decade, this nation was able to prove that the sky is no longer the limit. How was the United States able to effectively accomplish such a colossal …show more content…
The prevention of communism via the Cold War was crucial to Americans at the time of the space race, and they viewed this international competition as another way to prove democracy would succeed over communism.
Lastly, a main reason for the United States taking the financial burden of sending a man to the moon and back was nationalism. This must have been a drive, as the astronauts made a point to secure an American flag not only on the surface of the moon, but also on each of their suits (Chaikin 240-241). To secure the public's knowledge that this event was the doing of the United States, a phone call was made from the surface of the moon to President Richard Nixon (Redd). It was reasonable for the United States to use great resources required for space travel because it allowed for this nation to take credit for the space race and increase nationalism within its people.
A Small Step for a Man
Stepping foot onto the moon may have been a small step for a man, but it required remarkable efforts and breakthroughs in technology. Werner von Braun, a scientist of the time, stated, "'It will require years of concentrated effort to come abreast, and even longer to pull ahead'" (D'Antonio 174). As most people know, America was able to gain momentum and beat the Soviets through an increase in sophisticated technology. In a time before electronic technology
From the start of the Space Race, the Soviet Union had the United States beat by sending the first satellite, the Sputnik, and the first man, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, into space. However, President Kennedy would not stand by as the Soviet Union began to run away with the space race. Kennedy addressed the nation by consulting Congress to “increase NASA’s budget by nine billion dollars”(Cox). This bold move made by Kennedy enabled the United States to make it to the moon first. Going to the moon first was a much higher feat than simply going into space because it required much more “precision while launching and higher equipped technology to go the extra distance”(Exploring Space). Due to the extra skill required to go to the moon, it showed how by the end of the Space Race the United States had superior technology. Since the Cold War was a fight for Global Power, going to the moon was a significant move for the United States because it showed that they had exceptional machinery. With this admirable technology, it solidified the United States’s reputation as a Global
However, the Soviets were still in the lead, achieving more and more firsts: the first dual man flight, the first woman in space, the first three man flight, and the first spacewalk. Many Americans were getting worried. They saw the Soviet Union as the enemy, and right now the enemy was winning. The Americans needed something big to bring them to the lead. On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy made the bold, public announcement that the US would land a man on the moon before the decade was
The space race was an event that shaped America as we know it, and the man that came up with the idea to control the moon, John F. Kennedy, had a major impact on history. The United States and Russia were competing to land on the moon during a time of tension. NASA’s funding increased to get an man
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
When Apollo 11 landed on the moon, America surprised the world greatly. While the Soviet Union had sent a man into space before, no man had actually walked on the moon. In the race for space, America and the USSR vied to prove their selves superior by exploring space. Apollo 11’s successful landing placed America
The Cold War was an all-encompassing face of the 20th century, world politics, and a major idea during this time was domination of the skies. The United States competed against The Soviet Union in a war unlike any other, they didn’t fight with guns, bombs, or war machines but with science and the battlefield was space. The prioritization of the space race on the national agenda was characterized by an urgency, which underscored the commitment to the U.S. to defeat the Soviet Union by all means necessary. This came at the cost of billions of dollars, resources, lives, and political forces.
on May 25, 1961, he stood before congress to deliver a special message on “urgent national needs.” He asked for an additional $7 billion dollar to $9 billion dollar over the next five years for the space program, proclaiming that “this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” President Kennedy settled upon this dramatic goal as a means of focusing and mobilizing the nation’s lagging space efforts. Skeptics questioned the ability of the NASA to meet the President’s timetable. Within a year, however, Alan Shepard Gus Grissom became the first two Americans to travel into
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.
On May 25, 1961 President John Kennedy made to a special joint session of Congress and stated the following “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 the start to the fire of the Space Race. The Space Race was a time where the U.S and the Soviet Russians were going head to head for power, control, and weapons. A critical point in the Cold War, the Space Race defined technology at the time and proved the capacity of human making. With millions of people watching a “global competition”, with the only goal being the first on the moon.
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
"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
Following the cold war and Russia’s Sputnik satellite, a display of power and strength for the us was of the utmost importance. Kennedy was determined to launch the NASA program and show the rest of the world the advanced technology and superior will power that the united states had in its endeavor into space. On July 20th 1969, americans watched are there new televisions as Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. This served as a sort of healing for the country following Kennedy’s assassination. The landing also celebrated all the hard work and money that our nation had put into this
The Apollo space program was arguably one of the most important missions in the entire history of mankind. This program represented the hopes of one nation and the fears of another. The middle of the 20th century the United States and the Soviet Union were locked in a battle to see who could get to the moon first known as the space race. This race was intensified by the cold war that was going on between the two countries at the time as well. The Apollo program first began in 1961 because of the Soviet Union and very quickly became the backbone for the space program (CSN website). President Kennedy wanted the program to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade, as he wanted America to beat the Russians to it. This however, was an extreme