“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” Neil Armstrong said as he stepped onto the lunar soil, the first man on the moon. It is thus that the United States achieved victory over the Soviet Union in the space race. At the beginning of the race, however, it had seemed that the United States would not be the first to reach the moon when Soviets launched the first satellite and put the first man into orbit around the earth. Spurred by the determination of President Kennedy during the 1960s and early ’70s, the United States rapidly began developing its space programs in the race with the Soviet Union, even through all the hardships of the sixties. With a total of seventeen missions, it was the Apollo program which revolutionized the United States’ technology and enabled the United States to put the first man on the moon. After finally achieving its first goal, the following Apollo missions were dedicated to researching the moon and discovering more about the universe. Accordingly, the Apollo space program played an important role in developing new technologies, getting the United States to the moon, and preparing for future space exploration.
In order to know the importance of the Apollo program’s role, one should understand the context of the time. In the 1960s, the United States was determined to beat the Soviet Union to the moon. The United States was already behind, though, when the Soviets launched the first satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957 and sent Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, into a 108-minute orbit around the earth in 1961. But President John F. Kennedy knew that, in order to preserve democracy around the world, he needed to ensure that the United States would reach the moon before the Soviets. Kennedy said the United States would have a man on the moon by 1970 since “no single space project will be more important to mankind or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish” (Cook 50). Indeed, it would be a difficult task due to the tragic assassination of John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.; the disconcerting Vietnam War which generated riots; and the space program’s expenses which quickly devoured taxpayers’ dollars. Nevertheless, Kennedy’s goal was accomplished a year ahead of time in 1969. Even in all the turmoil of the sixties, once that American spacecraft touched down on the moon’s surface for the first time, “Apollo was, if nothing else, a restorative moment for the nation’s nerves,” according to author Kenneth Davis (Davis 249). Thus, Apollo was not only a way to gain an advantage over the Soviets, but also a way to bring the country together as they watched in a state of wonder while the first men headed to the moon.
The Apollo program brought about the rapid transformation and advancement of technology, especially in the progression from the Mercury and Gemini programs to Apollo. After learning from experience with the previous space programs, Apollo was much more advanced. Author John Barbour notes the intricacy of the Apollo program:
Project Apollo was one of the most complex scientific and engineering programs man had ever devised. At one point or another, 300,000 people and 20,000 companies were involved. The spacecraft alone had two million working parts. Earlier spacecraft, Gemini and Mercury, were relatively simple… Not so Apollo. It was so complex, it was designed system by system, each integrated into the whole. (Barbour 117-118)
All this complex technology needed to be “built from scratch,” in the words of writer Timothy Gaffney (Gaffney 18). New spacecraft, spacesuits, and rockets needed to be designed; for instance, the Saturn V rocket was developed for use in the Apollo program. However, the new technologies were quite expensive. By the time the Apollo project was completed, the country had spent over $25 billion. Writer William Cook mentions that “In 1966, spending on the space program reached its height at nearly $6 billion—over 4 percent of the entire federal budget and more than Washington spent that year on housing and community development combined” (Cook 50). Though costly, this huge advance in space technology led to further development of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and encouraged the United States to continue working to surpass the Soviets and to create better technology.
Once all the technology was built, everyone prepared for the first launch into space. Yet, the Apollo program encountered trouble at the very beginning. On January 27, 1967, Apollo 1 was undergoing tests of the craft’s systems in preparation for launch in mid-February. But suddenly, the craft burst into flame and the three astronauts inside tragically died. Though the incident was very upsetting, it demonstrated the need for revamping to ensure supreme safety. One modification included a new hatch which would allow the astronauts to escape the module in three seconds in case of an emergency. Though the Apollo 1 mission ended in disaster, it reduced the risk of experiencing another crisis and ensured that everyone would be prepared in case there was another accident.
Seven missions later, Apollo 8 became a noteworthy success. This mission’s goal was to send the first men into orbit around the moon, utilizing a figure eight pattern—humans would see the dark side of the moon for the first time. Not only that, but the mission was especially significant because “it was Christmas Eve, and the three astronauts, in a deliberate tweak at the ‘godless’ Communists, read the Creation account from the Book of Genesis” (Davis 245). The reading was broadcast over the television for all Americans to see. The astronauts gave Americans hope because, as author William Bennett comments, “Apollo 8 held the promise that a free people and free institutions would not fail after all. Americans coming together could still achieve wonders” (Bennett 397). Though the Vietnam War was beginning to seem like a lost cause, Apollo 8 was a true victory over the Soviets. Furthermore, Apollo 8 paved the way for the United States’ first landing on the moon.
Apollo’s next greatest feat was the eleventh mission: the first landing on the moon. It had been an expensive venture and many people had been skeptical of the Apollo program, but Americans were, nevertheless, ecstatic when their fellow citizens became the first people on the moon. As Neil Armstrong left the first footprints in the lunar soil, he proved that United States could achieve its goals, no matter how complex. Also, he was able to return to the earth the first samples of moon rock for research, initiating a new wave of understanding about the solar system. Now the United States was taking a huge lead over the Soviet Union.
The success of the Apollo program led to modernization and future space programs. Because the United States had finally landed on the moon, the country began to change quickly. As author Andrew Chaikin noted, “By the time Apollo 11 landed, we were already a changed people; by the time of Apollo 17, we were irrevocably different from the nation we had been in 1961” (Chaikin 583). Computers, exercise equipment, and synthetics became common, household items. In addition, the six remaining missions after Apollo 11 consisted of lunar landings and extensive research. By 1972, during the last Apollo mission, the moon seemed “less mysterious” and was quickly becoming familiar territory (Gaffney 18). As a result, Apollo encouraged the United States to begin pushing onward, past the moon, to Mars and the rest of the solar system. In 1969, when Richard Nixon’s presidency, his vice president, Spiro Agnew, suggested reaching Mars by the mid-1980s, followed by NASA’s proposal for a space station. Although, with the Vietnam War still to finish, the country was not ready for Mars or a space station at the time. Still, Apollo had inspired NASA to continue developing its space technology; the return to space was inevitable.
Furthermore, the Apollo program helped bring the Soviet Union and the United States together, even through the tensions between the nations. In July of 1975, an Apollo spacecraft took flight for the last time and docked with the Soviet’s Soyuz spacecraft. This was an act of friendship which promoted American and Soviet cooperation and “symbolized the end of the space race” (Oberg 28). After that, the Soviets went on the help the United States construct the International Space Station. Thus, even though Apollo had been a way for the United States to take the lead from the Soviet Union, the program was, in the end, a way for the two nations to connect.
The Apollo moon program was a significant part of United States history. Apollo helped expand space technology. Then, it sent the first men safely to the moon. NASA learned from the Apollo 1 disaster how to construct safe and effective spacecraft, allowing Apollo 8 and Apollo 11 to become the United States’ greatest triumphs of the space race. The last six Apollo missions brought back a considerable amount of data and showed how much the space program had changed through the Apollo program. It had been a long, difficult road, but the United States did, in fact, fulfill Kennedy’s goal of landing the first men on the moon. This boosted Americans’ morale and proved that the United States was the leader in space exploration and technology. Plus, Apollo encouraged future space missions—to Mars and beyond. But the most important aspect of the Apollo program was that it ultimately brought Americans closer to one another during a time of turmoil and spawned seeds of friendship with the Soviet Union.
Works Cited
Barbour, John. Footprints on the Moon. New York: Associated Press, 1969.
Bennett, William J. America: The Last Best Hope. 2 vols. Nashville: Thomas Nelson,
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Chaikin, Andrew. A Man on the Moon. New York: Penguin Group, 1994.
Cook, William J., and Gareth G. Cook. “When America Went to the Moon.” U.S. News
& World Report 11 Jul. 1994: 50. EBSCO. May 2008. <http://search.ebscohost.com>.
Davis, Kenneth C. Don’t Know Much About the Universe. New York: Perennial, 2004.
Gaffney, Timothy R. “The Moon Walkers.” Boys’ Life Jul. 1994: 18. EBSCO. May 2008.
<http://search.ebscohost.com>.
Oberg, James. “Making a Space Partnership Work.” Astronomy Aug. 2005: 28. EBSCO.
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