Apollo 11 Significance Essay
Introduction
Apollo 11 marks a significant part of the American history. Visiting the moon had been a major dream for the Americans citizens from the 17th century when Galileo first used his telescope to gain a close look at the moon. John F. Kennedy was the first to propose the sending of a human being on the moon. The launching of the risky and bold experiment later followed this proposal.
The major reason for the launch of this program is the rivalry and competition between the Soviet Union and the United State over space exploration. The Soviet Union takes prestige for being the first country to take a man to space during the cold war back in 1961 (Cortright, 2012). The United States is known for its competitive nature and subsequently, this explains the reason why the US found the need to compete against the Soviet Union by launching a program that would take a man to the moon.
| Watch out! This sample can be used by anyone…
Create your own unique sample on “Apollo 11 – Significance |
*Service is provided by writing AI tool essayAI
The launching of this program was after years of research and study of the development of a safe and stable rocket. The development and creation of the space consumed many resources as compared to any project launched by nations in the world at the time.
The spacecraft had three main parts, which included the Command Module meant to house the three men. The second was the service module, which acted as a support to the first compartment and acted, as a store to supplies and the final compartment was the Lunar module intended to facilitate their safe landing on the moon. NASA conducted the first Apollo mission testing, meant to test the structural capability of the ship. On January 27, 1967, a fire broke out at Kennedy space center during this test killing three astronauts. This was a major setback but the project proceeded with the mission, which was later followed by success.
On July 16, the Apollo 11 took off from Kennedy Space center. The space ship travelled for 240,000 miles within a period of 76 hours before it entered into the lunar orbit, which took place on July 19. The next day the Lunar module referred to as eagle separated from the command module. Two hours later, the Eagle travelled towards the lunar surface and touched down at 4:17 p.m. At 10:39 p.m., Armstrong who was in charge of the Eagle opened up the module and at 10:56 p.m., he set his foot at the moon.
He was recorded as the first man to step on the moon. Nineteen minutes later Aldrin joined him at the moon surface. The two men spent the night and at 1:54 p.m., the Eagle set off, heading to the command module. At 5:35 p.m., Armstrong and Aldrin rejoined the command module. At 12:56 a.m. on July 22, the Apollo 11 took off, began its journey home, and arrived at 12:50 p.m. on July 24 (Godwin, 2005).
The Apollo 11 plays a significant role in American history. The first major significance is the fact that this facilitated the American dream to reach the space. The Apollo11 marked the first time that man stepped on the moon. This was after numerous trials and challenges. This provided a challenge to the US and the rest of the society and its achievement inspired the citizens to have greater ambitions. This also has a great impact on the US since it was the first country to land a man on the moon. This demonstrated its superiority in terms of technological capacity, financial resources and technical capacity as compared to the rest of the countries in the world. Secondly, Apollo 11 established the United States as the leader of the cold war.
This was particularly because the United States was competing with the Soviet Union. The third significance was the fact that Apollo 11 motivated the research on various scientific and technological aspects (Elvis, 2012). This is mainly because the Apollo 11 is viewed as a scientific breakthrough and arouses even more questions and curiosity about space and other factors relating to the topic. The fifth significance is the fact that the Apollo 11 establishes John F. Kennedy as one of the important leaders in the American history.
He is named as a major player in the success of the Apollo. Finally, the Apollo is significant because it is among the first important issues to be broadcasted on television for all the American citizens to see (Elvis, 2012). Collectively the Apollo 11 has made a significant mark on the American history. This is not only because it is remembered by the US citizens but also because it marks an invent that is important to the world as a whole.
Conclusion
Apollo 11 marks an important part of the American history. This is mainly because it marked the success of the United States against the Soviet Union. This also marked the first time a man stepped on the moon. The Apollo 11 is viewed as a realization of an American dream where the US won the cold war and rose as a super power because of its technological, scientific, and technical superiority.
References
Cortright, E. M. (Ed.). (2012). Apollo Expeditions to the Moon: The NASA History. Courier Dover Publications. Print.
Elvis, M. (2012). After Apollo: The American West in Devising a New Space Policy. Harvard International Review, 33(4), 38.
Godwin, R. (2005). Apollo 11: First men on the moon. Burlington, Ont: Apogee Books. Print.
Harland, D. M. (2007). The First Men on the Moon: The Story of Apollo 11. Springer. Print.
