Apollo

media type="custom" key="3906649" width="188" height="108" Apollo Program By Nico

The Apollo program was made to take samples of moon rocks and to see if there was any life on the moon. Also they would see if the moon could sustain life because someday CO 2 would consume the earth and we would have to live on the moon if possible. Apollo's goal was to establish the technology to meet other national interests in space. Also to achieve superiority in space for the United States and to carry out a program of scientific exploration of the Moon, and to develop man's capability to work in the lunar environment. The Apollo 1 spaceship was plagued from the start with problems. Malfunctions traced to the (ECS) that regulated the temperature in the spacecraft and the atmosphere pressure inside the CM. January 27, 1967 Grissom, White and Chaffee shut themselves inside the capsule for dress rehearsal for lift off in a few months. At 6:31 pm, five hours after the crew got in the capsule sitting on top of the rocket, there were glitches in the communications and Grissom said that there could be catastrophic consequences. Just then Grissom yelled into the radio, “We got a fire in the cockpit. “ They couldn’t open the fire exit because it was engulfed in flames. After five minutes of struggling, the lifeless bodies just lay there not moving. Grissom, White and Chaffee died of too much smoke inhalation and that was only aircraft that NASA that had casualties. The fire was caused by an electrical spark from the radio.

On July 16, 1969 Apollo 11 roared into history. Four days later the Eagle had landed in the Tranquility Sea at 10:56 p.m. The lunar module beamed a video to earth that showed Neil Armstrong push himself off the lunar module ladder and plant his feet firmly on the moon’s surface, and then they beamed his voice down to earth. He said **//"That’s one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind”//** Everyone around the world was awestruck. Fifteen minutes later, Buzz Aldrin planted his feet on the moon’s surface. Armstrong and Aldrin collected samples set up experiments that would be running for years after they leave, they also took lots of photos. Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin planted the American flag in the moon’s surface. While on the moon, they collected 43 pounds of moon rocks and on earth that would be 60 pounds on earth. To get to places faster they would drive the moon buggy.     Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins were on Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930. He was the oldest of Viola and Stephan Armstrong’s kids. Neil was six years old when he had his first plane ride. The short trip in the old ford trimotor hooked the future astronaut on flying. After that experience, Neil's room filled with flying magazines and module planes he built in his spare time. Neil was fourteen when he decided to take flying lessons. There was an airstrip outside his home town, Wapakoneta, Ohio. His flight lessons were nine dollars an hour. To pay for lessons, Neil worked at a local drugstore and they paid him forty nine cents an hour. He swept and lifted big cartons for hours to afford his flight lessons. By his 16th birthday he could fly planes all by himself but he still couldn't drive a car. After he had enough, he pedaled three miles to the airstrip. While attending Wapakoneta high school, he also played the baritone horn and played a jazz combo. Neil got his flying license on August 5, 1946.  Neil Alden Armstrong became a Naval Aviator in 1949 and flew 78 combat missions in the Korean War. He received a Degree in Aeronautical Engineering at Purdue University in 1955. He ran home, and his mom was so excited she dropped the jar of preservatives that she was holding on her foot and broke her toe. In the first year of college he became an Eagle Scout. In 1955, Neil Armstrong became a research test pilot for NASA assigned to the prestigious X-15 program, flying this aircraft to the Outer edge of space at an altitude of over 200,000 feet and 4,000 miles per hour. In 1962, he was selected as the first U.S. Astronaut serving as backup pilot on the Gemini V flight, and as Command Pilot on the 1966 Gemini VIII flight which performed the first successful docking of two spacecraft. He subsequently flew on the Gemini VIII and Apollo XI missions. Neil Armstrong left NASA in 1971 and became Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati.  On April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 was launched. All was going well until Labrets asked to stir up cryo tanks. Swigert flicked the switch and all fans turned on. Sixteen seconds later they heard a loud explosion and felt the spacecraft shudder. Haise looked down the tunnel and it sounded like metal being twisted from side to side. Both Haise and Swigert felt the shuttle quake and they thought Lovell was messing with repress valves. Lunar module pilot eyes were as big as Saturn. Lovell had no idea what happened. "It wasn't me!" he mumbled and turned his eyes to Swigert. He had the same look. The event had shaken both men. Swigert looked at the extensive panel. An amber light warning light was blinking on Haise’s headphone, and then turned off. Main B control panel one and two power distributer's panel had 50% power. CM'S power panel was flashing and something had gone wrong.

These events affected America today because we wanted to be the first nation to step foot on the moon and also to see if there was life on the moon and if so could it sustain life. Also to find out more information on space and space travel. Did you know that Neil Armstrong was the first man to have commuion on the moon.

Works Cited Bredeson, Carmen. __John Glenn Returns to Orbit Life on the Space Shuttle (Countdown to Space)__. New York: Enslow, 2000. Bredeson, Carmen. __Neil Armstrong a space biography__. Springfield, NJ: Enslow, 1998. Hasday, Judy L. __The Apollo 13 Mission (Overcoming Adversity)__. New York: Chelsea House Publications, 2000. "NASA Apollo Mission Apollo-11." __Kennedy Space Center Science and Technology Home Page__. 01 June 2009 .