NASA’s greatest success is most usually attributed to the moon landings, however the accomplishments of the government space program go far beyond just that. Created by President Eisenhower in 1958, NASA’s mission was to provide America with research into outer space flight, and was created during the Space race and Cold War with the Soviet Union, which was a power struggle and race for arms and was caused by the distrust between America and the USSR, and the tension that was caused by the creation and use of nuclear weapons by America. The Space Race started with the Soviet Union as a way to show which country had better rocket technology and science, and was ended by the United States putting a man on the moon first. The USSR had a major
…show more content…
This announcement by Kennedy forced both the United States and the USSR to try harder than they ever had before to send a man on the moon. In order to build up to landing on the moon, NASA created Gemini, which were missions designed to further test human capabilities in space. During these missions American astronauts spacewalk and spent extended periods of time outside of their spacecraft (Dunbar). After learning what they could from the Gemini missions, NASA was ready to move onto the Apollo missions.The Apollo missions were designed to put men on the moon and to research the moon. Apollo 8, 1968, was the first manned American spacecraft to go around the moon, and Apollo 11, which was possibly NASA’s most famous mission, completed Kennedy’s promise and landed the first men on the moon. The first man to ever walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong, who produced one of the most famous quotes in history, “That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind" (Dunbar, “What Was the Apollo Program?”). The space race was practically over by this point, with America as the victor. The Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975 symbolized the increased relationship between America and the USSR (Dunbar, “The Apollo-Soyuz Mission”). It was a joint mission between the historical rivals, and was a major
This announcement by Kennedy forced both the United States and the USSR to try harder than they ever had before to send a man on the moon. In order to build up to landing on the moon, NASA created Gemini, which were missions designed to further test human capabilities in space. During these missions American astronauts spacewalk and spent extended periods of time outside of their spacecraft (Dunbar). After learning what they could from the Gemini missions, NASA was ready to move onto the Apollo missions.The Apollo missions were designed to put men on the moon and to research the moon. Apollo 8, 1968, was the first manned American spacecraft to go around the moon, and Apollo 11, which was possibly NASA’s most famous mission, completed Kennedy’s promise and landed the first men on the moon. The first man to ever walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong, who produced one of the most famous quotes in history, “That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind" (Dunbar, “What Was the Apollo Program?”). The space race was practically over by this point, with America as the victor. The Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975 symbolized the increased relationship between America and the USSR (Dunbar, “The Apollo-Soyuz Mission”). It was a joint mission between the historical rivals, and was a major