The story of the first moon landing is usually told through the eyes of the
astronauts. But in NASA's control room, the tension was thick as mission control waited
in those final, critical seconds. With no live feed to monitor the descent, they could only
sweat in agonizing silence, awaiting news. Finally, Neil Armstrong's voice announced the
Eagle had landed, and it was as if a dam had burst. Emotion surged over the disciplined,
highly trained controllers, and an ecstatic cheering erupted.
How do the underlined words help advance the author's purpose?
They signal a dramatic change in the passage's tone as mission control reacted to the news.
They emphasize the skill of the astronauts as they completed the difficult moon landing.
They loosely mirror the scene as mission control attempted to communicate with the astronauts.