First Man on the Moon - Essay Example

Teacher First Man on the Moon Going to the moon has been mankind’s dream for a very long time. It is considered as the first major step in going the last frontier which is space. This dream was realized on July 20, 1969, eight years after President John F. Kennedy that United States is embarking on a space program no matter how difficult it is (Dicht 29). This dream materialized with Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing module landed on the surface of the moon carrying three astronauts in the persons of Neil A. Armstrong, the Commander, Michael Collins, the Commander Module Pilot and Edwin “Buzz” E. Aldrin Jr., the Lunar Module Pilot. It was however Neil A. Armstrong who first set foot on the moon making him the first man on the moon with the famous phrase "Thats one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind”. He was followed by Buzz Aldrin minutes later. Thus, having been the first man to step on the moon made Neil Armstrong the first man on the moon. Neil A. Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio by her mother Viola Louise Engel and father Stephen Koenig Armstrong. According to Neil Armstrong’s mother Viola, he was a serene and untroubled baby. Neil Armstrong’s love for learning was instilled by his family at a young age where his mother and grandmother’s Caroline and Laura would read books to him. Such, Neil Armstrong learned to read at a very young age that by age three, he could also read street signs. Neil Armstrong carried this habit growing up that he would always like to have books around him. This also explains why Neil Armstrong was also considered as a deep thinker (Hansen 29-30). Later in life, he even pursued a teaching career in the academe as a professor of the University of Cincinnati attesting that Neil Armstrong is a deeply learned man. Neil Armstrong went to Wapakoneta Blume High School and enrolled at Indiana’s Purdue University with financial assistance US Navy. After three semesters at Purdue University, Neil Armstrong was called by the US Navy to active duty as the Cold War was looming where the US military would need more pilots (27). Neil Armstrong however completed his college and post graduate education. He completed his Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University and also had a degree in Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California. Neil Armstrong also received several honorary doctorate degrees from a number of universities (Dunbar) During his assignment in the Korean War, as a pilot, Neil Armstrong’s tales of heroism can be likened to a Tom Clancy novel being ranked among the top guns in the Pacific Fleet piloting Grumman F9F-2 Panther missions (Brinkley 30). After his stint at the Korean War as a pilot from 1949 to 1952, Neil Armstrong joined NACA or the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the predecessor of NASA, where he performed multifaceted functions as an “engineer, test pilot, astronaut and administrator for NACA and its successor agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration” (Dunbar). He spent 17 years in NACA where he became a research pilot at NASAs Flight Research Center, Edwards, California where he also test pilot many high speed aircraft that eventually led to Apollo 11 that sent him on the moon. He has tested more than 200 aircrafts ranging from gliders to jets. Among these high speed aircraft is the X-15 which could travel 4000 mph. Neil Armstrong eventually became an astronaut in 1962. But before going with the Apollo 11 that landed him on the moon with Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong was first assigned to the Gemini 8 mission as a command pilot. On March 16, 1966, the Gemini mission was launched into space where Neil Armstrong demonstrated his unparalleled skill as a pilot where he “performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space” (Dunbar) making him the best person to command the first mission in going to the moon. It followed then that when Apollo 11 was commenced, Neil Armstrong was the natural choice to be its commander and earned the place in history as the first man on the man as he first the made step on its surface. When the awaited time came for man to finally land on the moon, it was Saturn V rocket that carried the Apollo 11 into the sky which was launched at Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 16, 1969 at 9:32 in the morning. It was witnessed by more than 3,000 journalists from all over the world, 7,000 dignitaries and more than half a million tourist where the launch was successful and on schedule as planned (Rosenberg). After one and a half orbit around the earth, the Apollo 11 left Saturn V rockets behind and begun the three day travel going to the moon which is called the translunar coast. The landing however did not went as smooth as their launch where everything went as scheduled and as planned. The landing suffered some difficulty but was able to be overcome by the skillful maneuvering of Neil Armstrong. Such, after some difficulty in landing as their computer systems guided them to an area strewn of boulders, Neil Armstrong on board the Apollo 11 was able to maneuver for a safe landing to the moon’s surface in the Sea of Tranquility with only few seconds of fuel left. At 4:17 p.m. EDT on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong finally reported to Houston “"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed" giving everybody in Houston command center a relief by replying "Roger, Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. Were breathing again" (Rosenberg). After landing, the astronauts did not immediately disembark from the lunar module Apollo 11 as people would expect. After landing on the moon, Neil Armstrong, together with another astronaut Buzz Aldrin spent six and a half hours resting and preparing for the first ever moon walk. Contrary to what people expected that Neil A. Armstrong immediately disembarked from the lunar module Apollo 11, they first spent considerable time resting and preparing until they turned on their cameras that first transmitted the first images of the moon to the world. They first turn their cameras at 10:28 pm but it took minutes later before Neil Armstrong to get out of the lunar module. Finally, he came out at 10:56 pm from the lunar module to set foot on the moon and uttered the famous phrase "Thats one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" (Rosenberg) that earned him a special place not only in space exploration but also in mankind’s history. People had the impression that the famous phrase uttered by Neil A. Armstrong when he set foot on the moon "Thats one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" was thought and composed by him where he just spontaneously uttered it when he set foot on the moon. Such was not the case however. Neil Armstrong was too preoccupied with the Apollo mission to bother himself with what to say when they will land on the moon. The phrase "Thats one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" was actually composed and thought off in advance weeks before the launch of Apollo 11 by NASA’s public relations office. When the Apollo 11 was launched, Neil A. Armstrong was not even thinking about what to say when he will set foot on the moon until the lunar module finally landed on the moon (CBS News). The astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins spent almost a day in the moon or 21 hours and 36 minutes. When they finally left the moon, the astronauts left a plague "Here men from the planet earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind" (Rosenberg). They left the moon’s surface at 1:54 p.m. EDT on July 21, 1969 where they re-docked with the Columbia to transfer the samples they gathered from the moon. Later, Neil Armstrong together with the other astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins set off for a return to earth with a total travel time of three days. The command module of Columbia that carried the astronauts back to earth separated from the main body where parachutes opened at the altitude of 24,000 feet for the safe descent. Neil Armstrong landed on the surface of Pacific Ocean at southwest of Hawaii where everybody was safe (Rosenberg). All of the pilot was regarded as heroes but it was Neil Armstrong who earned the distinction as the first man on the moon for being the first to set foot on its surface. After a meritorious career in NASA Neil Armstrong finally retired in 1971 “and joined the University of Cincinnati faculty as a professor of aerospace engineering” (Brinkley 37). After eight years in the university, Neil Armstrong moved to the technology sector by becoming Chairman of Computing Techologies for Aviation Inc., based in Virginia. He also took other corporate jobs (Brinkley 37-38). The dream of going to the moon was fulfilled in the person of Neil Armstrong, the first man who set foot on the moon. Neil Armstrong was the perfect astronaut for the Apollo Mission because he was a highly skilled pilot and been with NASA for a long time testing and piloting many of its jets that eventually led to the creation of Apollo 11. His life after NASA also proved to be worthy of the praise and distinction given to the first man on the moon because Neil Armstrong led an equally meritorious life as a professor at University of Cincinnati and took several executive jobs. Neil Armstrong died on August 25, 2015 at the ripe age of 82. Works Cited Brinkley D. THE MAN AND THE MOON. (cover story). American History [serial online]. August 2004;39(3):26. Available from: MasterFILE Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed June 22, 2015. Dicht, Burton. "“The Most Hazardous And Dangerous And Greatest Adventure On Which Man Has Ever Embarked.„." Mechanical Engineering 131.7 (2009): 28. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 22 June 2015. Dunbar, Brian. NASA. NASA. Web. 22 June 2015. Hansen, James R. First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. Print. "Neil Armstrong: First Man on the Moon | Space.com." Web. 21 June 2015. . < http://www.space.com/15519-neil-armstrong-man-moon.html> Rosenberg, Jennifer. "How Neil Armstrong Became the First Man on the Moon." Web. 21 June 2015. .< http://history1900s.about.com/od/1960s/p/firstmanmoon.htm> "The 11 Biggest Myths about Neil Armstrong, First Man on the Moon." CBSNews. CBS Interactive. Web. 21 June 2015. < http://www.cbsnews.com/media/the-11-biggest-myths-about-neil-armstrong-first-man-on-the-moon/9/> Read More