Apollo 11
Apollo 11 was the first ever space flight to successfully land humans on the surface of the Moon and return them to Earth. This mission was undertaken after President John F. Kennedy declared his goal to land a man on the surface of the Moon. In a joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961, President Kennedy said, "I believe 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 Earth."
The launch of Apollo 11 was an outcome of several previous missions to send unmanned spacecrafts into space. The first unmanned Apollo mission was undertaken by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This mission monitored the testing and structuring of the space vehicle and supervised its launch process. Several other previous missions had also landed on the Moon and sent photographs of its surface.
Finally, the Apollo 11 spacecraft was launched on July 16, 1969 from Kennedy Space Center. On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin became the first ever humans to land on the Moon. After his first step on the Moon, Armstrong said, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
Apart from taking the first steps on the Moon, the astronauts accomplished several other missions. They successfully implanted a television camera on the Moon's surface to transmit signals to Earth. The astronauts also took panoramic photographs of the lunar surface and planted a laser reflector on the moon's surface. They also collected samples of lunar surface material for research.
However, the journey was not entirely without difficulty. The landing site on the surface of the Moon was not the intended target. This was because the spacecraft kept losing communication with the control room in Houston at frequent intervals. Moreover, during its descent toward Earth, the spacecraft faced a shortage of fuel.
In spite of a few difficulties, the astronauts completed a total of 2.5 hours walking on a surface where the gravity is only one-sixth of Earth's gravity. On July 21, 1969, the lunar module departed the Moon's surface with the astronauts, thus beginning its return journey.
Upon landing, the astronauts were briefly placed in isolation. This was done to avoid infection from any undiscovered pathogens from the Moon's surface that the astronauts might have been exposed to during their moonwalks. Many parades and celebrations were held in honor of the successful mission of Apollo 11.
2
Which of the following explains the primary motive behind launching Apollo 11 into space?
A.
to launch the first ever manned mission by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) into space
B.
to implant television cameras on the surface of the moon and take panoramic photographs of its surface
C.
to research about the surface of the moon and collect samples from its surface
D.
to accomplish the national goal set by President John F. Kennedy of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth