The Moon Is Pretty, Isn’t It?: Mankind’s First Steps On The Moon

All of mankind has stared at the same moon. Not only did they admire it, but they also got innovative with it. Back before the days of clocks and calendars, people would calculate days with the phases of the moon. During the Cold War, it was used to calculate a nation's success. Being moonlit or moon-kissed is a compliment towards someone’s looks. The moon, as enchanting as she is, is the epitome of ethereal beauty, but what is prettier than the moon? Earth from the moon. The Apollo 11 mission was the first time a man ever set foot on the moon. "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. Neil Armstrong rewrote history as the first man to walk on the moon. 20^th July 1969 wasn’t just a win for America, but a win for humanity as a whole. NASA shot for the moon, and they succeeded.

 

When World War 2 ended, the Cold War began. The USA and USSR used technological advancements to make themselves the superior nation. There began a space race. During the war, Dr Wernher von Braun of Germany developed the first ballistic missile, the V-2 Rocket. This invention gave him the title of ‘father of modern rocketry’. America acknowledged Nazi Germany’s loss in WW2 and introduced Operation Paperclip. This operation aimed to bring Dr Wernher von Braun and many other German scientists and engineers to America to prevent their expertise from being utilised by the Soviets.

 

The Soviets took the first point on 4^th October 1957 when they launched Sputnik I into orbit. And a month later, they launched Sputnik II with a dog named Laika. They not only launched a spacecraft into orbit, but also carried life in it. Laika died in space, but they never planned on her survival. It was to show the world that they were winning. America tried the same on 6^th December 1957, but the spacecraft exploded at take-off. However, their next attempt, Explorer I, was a success on 31^st January 1958. Later that year, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act (NASA) into law. NASA was in full swing, but on 12^th April 1961, a Soviet cosmonaut became the first man to reach space.  Yuri Gagarin orbited Earth and returned safely. In response, America launched Project Mercury on 5 May 1961, sending Alan Shepard into space and becoming the second nation to achieve human spaceflight. America and the Soviet Union were even, but that wasn’t enough.

 

On 12^th September 1962, John F. Kennedy gave an inspiring speech in which he proclaimed that America would reach the Moon by the end of the decade. He died before it happened, but NASA spent years developing the technology and experience needed for the Apollo missions. In 1966, the Gemini 8 flight demonstrated that astronauts could rendezvous and dock spacecraft in orbit. It helped astronauts develop the skills and endurance for the moon landing.

 

16^th July 1969 was the historic day when astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins left for the moon. They took off in a Saturn V, a three-stage rocket built for efficient fuel use on their 384,400km journey. After entering Earth orbit, a trans-lunar injection burn propelled the spacecraft towards the moon. Michael Collins was to remain in Columbia, the command module, as he continued to orbit while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin undocked Eagle, the lunar module, and set off for the moon. The landing site was a relatively smoother side of the moon. It is believed to have been an ocean, hence the name Mare Tranquillitatis, or the sea of tranquillity. Everything was going smoothly until a radar unit bombarded the onboard guidance computer with tasks, causing it to reboot. Armstrong had to manually land the Eagle, as Buzz gave him the altitude and descent rate. Being unable to do so would cause them to crash and die from impact. They did it with only 15 seconds of fuel to spare. On 20^th July 1969, six hours after the landing, Armstrong, as the mission commander, exited the module. History was made; he was the first man on the moon. Twenty minutes later, Buzz joined him and planted the American flag. They also answered a momentous phone call from President Richard Nixon in the White House. Right before they returned to Earth, they read a plaque on the spacecraft that read, “We came in peace for all mankind.”

 

The two astronauts reconnected with Collins in orbit and dropped into the Pacific Ocean. After a three-week quarantine, the astronauts were greeted by cheering crowds and ticker-tape parades, a reminder that the mission had captured the imagination of an entire generation. History remembers Neil Armstrong as the first man on the moon, yet most of the iconic photographs associated with that achievement show Buzz Aldrin instead. Since Armstrong was usually behind the camera, most photographs of the man on the moon are of Buzz, including the iconic boot print. The astronauts may have become national heroes, but Apollo’s benefits were felt far beyond the people involved. The astronauts returned with more than 20kg of rock and soil samples that have helped in our understanding of lunar geology. They installed a Laser Ranging Retroreflector on the moon's surface. To this day, this device helps scientists determine the moon’s distance by reflecting laser light to Earth. The impact of the Apollo missions is not limited to astrophysics. It has led to the development of digital computers, keyboards, software, and many other everyday gadgets we use daily.  It also created developments in fields including water purification technologies, food preservation, memory foam, and portable tools. More significantly, Apollo 11 united people all around the world and encouraged them to pursue science, engineering, and space exploration.

 

The moon has been and will always be a symbol of mankind’s curiosity and ambition. The Apollo missions were an ode to unity rather than merely a race to the moon.  It wasn’t just the accomplishment of the three astronauts. Many engineers, scientists, mathematicians, technicians, and countless others worked together to create it. They weren’t even all American. As President John F Kennedy said, "We choose to go to the Moon... not because it is easy, but because it is hard." The Moon is still pretty, isn't it? Maybe now it is even more beautiful, as we know that humanity once reached out and touched it.