The Dark Side of the Moon Landing

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The Dark Side of the Moon Landing

The Final Frontier

In 1969, The United States successfully sent the first manned mission to the moon. It was a long time coming, a product of the Cold War’s Space Race. The Cold War began in 1947, between the Soviet Union and the United States. There was no actual fighting in the Cold War, just political conflict, military coalitions, and numerous competitions of brain rather than brawn. Among these competitions is the most famous Space Race. Although the Cold War commenced in 1947, the Space Race did not begin until 1955. The President of the United States at this time was Dwight Eisenhower. The first competition of the space race was to send artificial satellites into space, but what has made the Space Race so famous, was the competition to send a man to the moon.

The USSR’s Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space, as he orbited around the earth for just over an hour. Three weeks later, The US sent Alan Shepard into space, though he never achieved orbit. The current president at this time was John F. Kennedy, who famously stated that he would send an American to the moon. On May 25 of 1961 Kennedy changed the final goal of the Space Race, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.”

An Uneasy Dallas

The year is 1963, Adlai Stevenson, the Ambassador to the United Nations travels to Dallas, Texas, for United Nations Day. Stevenson gives a speech at the Dallas Memorial Auditorium, following his speech, a mass of right wing protestors gather. As Stevenson leaves the Auditorium e is struck on the head with a placard criticizing the UN. This was only a foreshadowing o...

... middle of paper ...

...and completing the Space Race. As Armstrong stepped off the landing pad, he gave the famous quote, “ That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. Apollo 11 effectively returned to Earth, bringing back the first humans to step foot on the moon safe and sound. This completed the Space Race, and fulfilled the late President John F. Kennedy’s promise of landing a man on the moon.

Works Cited

"The Week." New Republic 147.13 (1962): 3-8. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

Gordon, Myles. "The Eagle Has Landed." Scholastic Update 125.7 (1992): 12. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

Ling, Peter. "Killing Kennedy." History Today 63.11 (2013): 50-56. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

Works Consulted

http://www.thespacerace.com/timeline/

http://www.jfk.org/content/pdf/reading-room/timeline/timeline.html

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