Race to the Moon By Laura G. Smith

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¹     On July 20, 1969, millions of curious viewers hovered around their television sets to observe history in the making as astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon's rocky surface and uttered the famous words-"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." It was a moment of triumph as America celebrated the first manned lunar landing.
 
²     Space travel has captured the interest of people across the globe for many decades and was once considered a way to measure the success of a country's leadership in science, engineering, and national defense.
 
³     The United States and Russia competed with each other in developing space programs. In the 1960's and 1970's, this "space race" drove both nations to tremendous exploratory efforts.
 
⁴     Space travel began on October 4, 1957 when Russia launched Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite to circle the earth. Man-made satellites are referred to as "artificial" because they are not a natural occurrence like the moon. These satellites orbit the earth for varying lengths of time depending on their size and distance from the earth, and they collect and transmit information that is used for a variety of purposes. Artificial satellites can be categorized as weather, communication, navigation, scientific, or military satellites.
 
⁵     To stay in orbit, an artificial satellite must maintain a certain speed, or it will fall into the atmosphere and burn up. Most satellites stop working long before they fall to earth. Their batteries go dead or their electronic equipment fails, and they become useless. There are dozens of inactive satellites now circling the earth.
 
⁶     Russia's second artificial satellite, Sputnik II, was launched in November of 1957 carrying a dog named Laika, the first animal sent into orbit. As scientists studied how animals responded physically to space travel, it helped them to prepare humans for the challenges they would face under the same conditions.
 
⁷     The United States sent its first artificial satellite, Explorer I, into orbit on January 31, 1958. In the months and years following, the U.S. launched many other satellites for the purpose of gathering and transmitting information to the earth. In December of 1958, the first communications satellite was launched in a flight called Project Score. In 1959, the first weather satellite, Vanguard II, sent pictures of clouds to earth. Russia launched far fewer satellites than the United States.
 
⁸     April 12, 1961 marked the beginning of manned space flights as Russian cosmonaut, Yuri A. Gagarin orbited the earth in the spaceship Vostok I. America followed close behind launching its first manned flight on May 5, 1961 as astronaut Alan B. Shepherd, Jr. flew in Freedom 7. The flight only lasted 15 minutes, and Shepherd did not go into orbit.
 
⁹     John H. Glenn, Jr., became the first American to orbit the earth. He made three revolutions on February 20, 1962, during his five-hour flight on Friendship 7.
 
¹⁰     On June 16, 1963, Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space, and Alexei Leonov of Russia was the first person to "walk" in space in March of 1965. On the third of June in the same year, Edward White II became the first American to walk in space. During the years that followed, numerous manned flights were launched, and many of them orbited for several days before returning to Earth.
 
¹¹     Both America and Russia also launched space probes, which are designed to escape the earth's gravity and explore space at various distances from the earth. The first Russian probe, Luna 1, was launched in January of 1959, followed by America's launch of Pioneer IV in March of the same year.
 
¹²     In 1964 and 1965, three United States lunar spacecraft (a type of space probe) transmitted more than 17,000 close-up pictures of the moon back to earth in order to help prepare for man to land there.
 
¹³     In December of 1968, three American astronauts carried out the first piloted lunar voyage, orbiting the moon 10 times in their Apollo 8 spacecraft. On Apollo 9 and Apollo 10 missions, further testing of the lunar landing craft was carried out. This paved the way for man to successfully land on the lunar surface.
 
¹⁴     On July 16, 1969, America launched Apollo 11. Four days later, the goal of achieving a manned lunar landing became a reality. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. stepped out of the Apollo 11 lunar module, Eagle, and onto the moon's surface. They explored the nearby area for three hours picking up rock and soil samples and setting up several scientific experiments. They also planted an American flag in the lunar soil before lifting off to rejoin the command module. After an 8-day flight, Apollo 11 returned safely to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.
 
¹⁵     So who won the race to the moon? It's not easy to declare a winner. In the early 60's, Russia had powerful rockets that could launch heavy spacecraft on long flights, but the United States led in the number of scientific spacecraft launched in fields like communications and weather-reporting by satellite. By the early 70's, the United States astronauts had landed on moon, and unmanned Russian spacecraft had explored the moon and brought soil samples to earth. It can be said that each country contributed in different ways to man's successful landing on the moon.
 
¹⁶     Today, the moon is a symbol of the peaceful exploration of space. No nation owns the moon. In 1967, more than 90 nations signed a treaty governing space exploration. This treaty states that outer space, including the moon, cannot be claimed by any country or be used for military purposes.

Copyright © 2008 edHelper

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Name _____________________________

Date ___________________

Race to the Moon

1.   Space travel began when   Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon   Russia launched Sputnik 1 into orbit   America launched Explorer 1 into orbit   A dog named Laika was sent into space	2.   Space travel was considered a way to measure the success of a country's leadership in science, engineering, and national defense.   True   False
3.   To stay in orbit, an artificial satellite must   Weigh a certain amount   Maintain electrical power   Maintain a certain speed   Be a certain size	4.   Artificial satellites collect and transmit information for various reasons. List three types of satellites.
5.   John H. Glenn, Jr., was the first American to   Orbit the earth   Travel in space   Walk in space   Walk on the moon	6.   Both America and Russia launched space probes, which are designed to escape the earth's ___________ and explore space at various distances from the earth.   Atmosphere   Orbit   Surface   Gravity

 

Name _____________________________

Date ___________________

Race to the Moon

7.   Since America was the first country to put a man on the moon, it's safe to say they won the race to the moon.   True   False

8.   When Neil Armstrong stepped out of the lunar module Eagle onto the moon's surface, he said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Why do you think he said that?

 

Race to the Moon - Answer Key

1    Russia launched Sputnik 1 into orbit
2    True

3    Maintain a certain speed
4  Answers could include (weather, communication, navigation, scientific, or military)
5    Orbit the earth
6    Gravity
7    False