Man Walking on the Moon
The event of the first man on the moon was a result of the space race between the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US). After World War II both the Americans and Russians gained access to German rocket technology. Using German specialists, both sides developed rockets and satellites at a rapid pace. In 1955 the US and USSR both announced plans to launch satellites. The dual announcement marked the beginning of the space race.
The first satellite to be launched into space was the Russian Sputnik 1 in 1957. The Americans responded with the Explorer 1 in 1958. Once again the Russians beat the Americans when in April 12, 1961 the USSR launched Yuri Gagarin into orbit around the Earth. In response, in May 5, 1961 the US launched Alan Shepard into space. The space race continued on with US and USSR launches in quick succession of each other. The next ambitious goal of the space race was to land a human on the surface of the moon. On July 1969 the crew of Apollo 11 became the first humans to walk on the surface of the moon. The walk on the moon was completely televised and Neil Armstrong said the signature quote, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” that many remember today.
