Notes

In the early 1960s, the United States was in a race with the Soviet Union to develop new technologies. A nation’s ability to travel in space was seen as the ultimate test, so President John F. Kennedy made a bold speech. He declared that the United States would land a human being on the moon by the end of the decade. On July 20, 1969, this mission was accomplished when two astronauts walked on the surface of the moon.
NASA’s Apollo space program was developed with the specific goal of landing a man on the moon. The first six Apollo missions were unmanned space flights. Apollo 7 through Apollo 10 were flights that carried people into orbit around the Earth and the moon but did not land anywhere until they returned to Earth. By July of 1969, Apollo 11 was ready for takeoff. It would be the first flight whose mission was to land on the moon.

Launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Columbia spacecraft carried astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin. After orbiting Earth one-and-a-half times, Columbia headed for the moon and orbited it once as well. After reaching a preplanned position on the dark side of the moon, Armstrong and Aldrin entered the lunar module Eagle and descended to the surface.

They were headed to an area of the moon called the Sea of Tranquility. However, the area where the Eagle was programmed to land was too rocky. Armstrong had to take control of the craft and steer it to a safer place. Because the small craft carried only a limited amount of uel, this action worried the astronauts as well as the scientist back on Earth. Would there be enough fuel left for the eagle to take off and return to the Columbia?

At least for a while, though, the excitement of having humans on the moon overshadowed their concerns. Neil Armstrong was first to leave the capsule. As he descended the Eagle’s ladder, he turned on a camera so that people on Earth could watch this historic event. Watched by more than 600 million people, Armstrong stepped onto the moon and said these very famous words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Armstrong became the first human to set foot on another object in space, Followed soon after by Aldrin.

While they were on the moon, Armstrong and Aldrin collected soil and rock samples and left behind scientific instruments. They also planted a United States Flag and took a phone call from President Richard Nixon. They left behind a plaque that said:



Everyone held their breath as the Eagle took off from the moon. There was just enough fuel for Armstrong and Aldrin to return to the Columbia where Michael Collins anxiously waited. All three astronauts returned to Earth safely and became instant heroes all over the world.