The Apollo Mission

By Ashriya Gupta

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong

On July 20, 1969, millions of people gathered around their televisions to watch two U.S. astronauts do something no one had ever done before. Wearing bulky space suits and backpacks of oxygen to breathe, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first human beings to walk on the moon.

 In 1961, Yuri Gagarin from Russia became the first person to go into the space. A few years later, Alan Shephard became the first American to go into the space.

President John F. Kennedy issued a challenge to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to put a human on the moon in 10 years or less.

NASA officials selected Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins as the astronauts, who would make the historic trip from Earth on Apollo 11. Armstrong and Aldrin boarded Apollo 11’s lunar module, the Eagle, and began to descend to the moon’s surface.

The Eagle made a risky landing in a shallow moon crater named the Sea of tranquility. As mission commander, Armstrong stepped out first and became the first person on the moon. Twenty minutes later, Aldrin climbed down the ladder and joined his partner Armstrong. They collected samples of moon rocks and dust and after over two hours, the astronauts brought 47 pounds back onto the lunar module. It was time to go home. The Apollo 11 crew returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. Over the next several years, 10 astronauts followed Armstrong and Aldrin’s footsteps. The last mission to the moon was in 1972.

The moon landing is not only interesting but it also teaches us that if we believe in something and have the dedication to complete it then nothing is impossible.