Apollo 11: The Most Famous NASA Mission
Apollo 11 is probably the most famous NASA mission in United States history. The mission that took man to the moon. The mission that made "...one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" a recognizable phrase throughout every home in America. The mission that captivated not only the nation, but the world.
The world had recently changed its sights from Imperialism to the vast unknown, namely, space. It was common knowledge that the USSR was making incredible progress into space exploration. And the United States decided that it was not about to be bested by the Soviet Union. It was president John F. Kennedy that put this great feat in motion. on May 25, in 1961 John F. Kennedy set a national goal to successfully send a crew of people
to the moon and back ("Apollo”). A task that, at the time, seemed impossible to many. However, this mission had other objectives, such as collecting data and samples, as well, as taking photographs and transmit footage back to earth ("Apollo”). Making the mission seem more daunting and impossible. Nevertheless, on July 16th of 1969, Apollo 11 launched towards its goal from Cape Kennedy (Dunbar). On board Apollo were three men that would go down in history.
The Apollo 11 crew consisted of “Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (Dunbar).” As they took off there were 530 million people watching in anticipation from all over the country. The journey was highly successful and on July 20, 1969 the Apollo took “one small step for man” and landed on the surface of the moon (Dunbar).
At exactly 10:56 p.m. EDT, Armstrong was the first person to ever step foot on the moon. Shortly followed by Aldrin. They spent two and a half hours on the surface of the moon, as the mission instructed, taking photographs and collecting samples (Dunbar). But although the crew took samples from the moon, they left something behind as well. Famously, the crew planted an American flag into the surface of the moon. Additionally, they left a patch honoring the fallen crew of Apollo 1 and a plaque that reads “"Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind (Dunbar)." on July 24 the Apollo crew landed back on earth of the coast of Hawaii (Dunbar). The seemingly impossible had been done. John F. Kennedy’s goal had been met. And for a while, the population of earth was brought together in captivation of this great feat that marked a new beginning for all mankind and a new age of exploration.
The world had recently changed its sights from Imperialism to the vast unknown, namely, space. It was common knowledge that the USSR was making incredible progress into space exploration. And the United States decided that it was not about to be bested by the Soviet Union. It was president John F. Kennedy that put this great feat in motion. on May 25, in 1961 John F. Kennedy set a national goal to successfully send a crew of people
to the moon and back ("Apollo”). A task that, at the time, seemed impossible to many. However, this mission had other objectives, such as collecting data and samples, as well, as taking photographs and transmit footage back to earth ("Apollo”). Making the mission seem more daunting and impossible. Nevertheless, on July 16th of 1969, Apollo 11 launched towards its goal from Cape Kennedy (Dunbar). On board Apollo were three men that would go down in history.
The Apollo 11 crew consisted of “Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (Dunbar).” As they took off there were 530 million people watching in anticipation from all over the country. The journey was highly successful and on July 20, 1969 the Apollo took “one small step for man” and landed on the surface of the moon (Dunbar).
At exactly 10:56 p.m. EDT, Armstrong was the first person to ever step foot on the moon. Shortly followed by Aldrin. They spent two and a half hours on the surface of the moon, as the mission instructed, taking photographs and collecting samples (Dunbar). But although the crew took samples from the moon, they left something behind as well. Famously, the crew planted an American flag into the surface of the moon. Additionally, they left a patch honoring the fallen crew of Apollo 1 and a plaque that reads “"Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind (Dunbar)." on July 24 the Apollo crew landed back on earth of the coast of Hawaii (Dunbar). The seemingly impossible had been done. John F. Kennedy’s goal had been met. And for a while, the population of earth was brought together in captivation of this great feat that marked a new beginning for all mankind and a new age of exploration.