“Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy on July 16, 1969, carrying Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin into an initial Earth-orbit of 114 by 116 miles” (NASA.gov 2015). Nearly 530 million people watched the televised event that changed history. Twenty-one hours and thirty-six minutes were spent on the moon by Aldrin and Armstrong. The fact that these three men agreed to venture into space shows the desire for exploration. Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, six and a half hours after landing (History.com). On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced a national goal of landing on the moon by the end of the 1960s. “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” was said by John F. Kennedy (History.com 2010). The flight landed exactly at the end of the 1960s. The men traveled 260,000 miles in seventy-six hours. Armstrong was the first man on the moon and was followed by Aldrin soon after. They placed the United States flag and took photographs. This was all recorded on a television camera for the rest of the American population to …show more content…
Russia also had the goal to land men on the moon, but the United States took the lead. Recently Vladimir Markin, of Russia, has claimed that the United States did not actually land on the moon. He says that the spaceflight never landed and America just went on to make a film about it. With the technology the United States has, it was easy to imitate landing on the moon. The evidence we have from landing on the moon is a video shot by the astronauts and space rock that was brought back. According to Markin, he decided to announce his claim when the video of the space landing and the space rock went missing (Dailymail.com 2015). America only landed on the moon because they knew Russia was also trying to land on the moon. This gave America all of the publicity. The United States could have just landed on the moon for the attention and the pleasure of exceeding past another country. The evidence is missing and America could easily lie. However, the American flag is on the moon though and here is video of the Americans landing on the moon and placing the flag, which shows that Markin’s claim is invalid. Apollo 11 gave Americans the lead and bragging rights towards Russia and also other