The first ever moon landing of 1969 is probably the most renowned crown jewel of modern science and of Mankind itself. The impossible made possible. It was a feat that was once but a dream, but now realized and conquered. It showcased the magnificence of human beings and that the capabilities of Mankind know no bounds. Through this triumph, inspired a generation to march forward into the unknown and chase the never-ending dream. This was what the moon landing was to many, but not to all. Despite the magnitude of the feat, surrounding this crown jewel is an expanse of controversy, doubt, and conspiracy. Knowing this, do we alienate each other and forego every advancement we have made or do we take this in stride in our march towards building …show more content…
a better tomorrow. My name is Dwight Eldrich Manaol and I am here to prove to you that Mankind's first ever moon landing was real.
Without further ado, let us begin.
The first controversy of Apollo 11 was with how the spacecraft managed to get to the moon. Many theories point to the Van Allen radiation belt being the heaping space of deadly radiation that it is would prove an impossible space for the spacecraft to get through. However, let us take a step back. Although these facts are true to the Van Allen belt, we have a misconception about the type of radiation present there. When we think of radiation, we think of the 2 atomic bombs dropped, nuclear plants, and gamma rays. This type of radiation is known as electromagnetic waves that include radio waves, our visible lights waves, infrared and x-rays. The type of radiation present in the Van Allen belt is charged particles; components of atoms including protons, neutrons, and
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electrons which have been split apart by nuclear reactions or the extreme heat in the sun. When they zoom towards Earth at lightning speeds, they are captured in its magnetic fields forming the Van Allen belt. Long exposures to these high energy particles will cause tissue damage. To prevent this, NASA prevented this by coating the craft with aluminum to stop proton particles and fitting Q-felt fibrous insulation material in the crew compartments. Furthermore, NASA formulated a path for the craft to take that would experience the least amount of these particles possible. Damage from radiation also increases accumulatively the longer the exposure which is why the duration in the Van Allen belt was also taken into account. All in all, the crew spent roughly about 6 hours in the belt while only receiving 0.18 rads of radiations; significantly lower than that of the yearly allowed dose in workers of nuclear plants. Next and undoubtedly the most controversial part of the moon landing was during on the moon.
Thousands of conspiracy theories are made surrounding the pictures and videos taken on the moon. Let us examine this photograph of Buzz Aldrin. Notice how the shadows are all parallel to one another? This phenomenon caused by parallel sun rays with no diffusion due to the fact that the Sun is about 93 million miles away from the moon; making the light coming from the Sun virtually parallel. This information is important because during the 1960s replicating this image in a studio is basically impossible. This is because by only using normal studio lighting, the shadows would diverge. In order to replicate this in a studio, numerous white lasers would have to be tightly compacted in place of the Sun. This technology simply did not exist in the 60s. On top of that, lasers were astronomically expensive and were only available in red. This would mean that the cost of the lasers alone would be worth more than that of the actual Apollo mission budget. Another solution you might think would be to edit the photo using computer graphics. Again, this would mean they would secretly have had their hands on technology decades ahead of its time. This alone would prove that replicating the moon landing would have been more expensive than actually having a manned mission to the moon. Another controversial topic would be the photo's lack of stars. Why aren't there any stars in the picture when our
night sky is filled them? This would definitely mean that the image is fake right? Well, no they are not. This picture is as scientifically correct as it can be. Firstly, all manned landings were done during the lunar daytime meaning that the light emitted by stars would be outshone by the Sun and the sunlight being reflected off the Moon's surface. Another huge factor would be that the camera used to take them uses film instead of the digital cameras we use nowadays. Depending on the shutter speed and how wide the aperture is, different aspects of a picture can be highlighted. In the case of this photo, the settings were set such that the brighter object was focused on more than the dimmer background causing the stars to basically fade. Now that we've proved the authenticity of the photos another question arises. How did they manage to survive the heat present on the Moon's surface? Would the film have melted? No, due to the lack of an atmosphere, radiation would be the only means of heat transfer on the surface which is then counteracted by coating the film with passive optical coatings and paints that would prevent the films from melting. Now the proof I have provided so far have come from NASA which sounds bias. If only there was a third-party that would provide their own evidence. Luckily, we do. Countries like Spain, England, and Australia all independently kept track of the transmission between Houston and the space crew. Not to mention Russia, the country with every intention to prove the landing fake, has tracked every single of their space expeditions. Till this day, none of them have claimed the USA faked the moon landing. Additionally, if the moon landing was ever faked, NASA would have had to keep their 400,000 employees from disclosing the secret to the public. Well, what about a tangible proof that people from Earth use to validate the event? Retroreflectors were actually placed on specific points of the Moon where observatories can point at with lasers. Due to the nature of these reflectors, the light emitted on them would directly bounce the light back at the same exact spot the laser was emitted. As of 2018, 16 percent of US citizens still believe the moon landings were faked and with the unlimited amount of undeniable evidence available to them, it is simply left to the people in what to believe. In my opinion, what's important is that because of the events of Apollo 11 has served as a stepping stone for the new generation to build upon and I hope we can join that movement.
While Nixon did allow Kennedy’s dream of a moon landing to become reality in 1969, he soon after put limits on the space program, which had more symbolic value than anything else. The space program was a new-liberal hallmark of the “we can do it all” philosophy of the reaching of new heights in a promising future that promised a “new frontier” (Lecture 25, November 19). Cutting back on this program was a supreme indication that no, we couldn’t “do it all”.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Once the United States landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon, it was clear that the U.S. hoaxed the moon landing due to observations being viewed during the live footage of the moon landing. When watching the United States land on the moon, viewers claim to have watched the flag waving on live television. As known, there is no atmosphere in space or on the moon, so why should the flag be waving? NASA clai...
... “of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth” The space program fascinates the American people. In the early 1960s whenever space flights were launched during school hours students would gather in gyms and auditoriums to watch the lift offs on television. The race to the moon continued through the 1960s. It is one of the nations single most expensive projects of the decade, costing $56 billion.
Host: On September the 11th 2001, the notorious terror organisation known as Al-Qaeda struck at the very heart of the United States. The death count was approximately 3,000; a nation was left in panic. To this day, counterterrorism experts and historians alike regard the event surrounding 9/11 as a turning point in US foreign relations. Outraged and fearful of radical terrorism from the middle-east, President Bush declared that in 2001 that it was a matter of freedoms; that “our very freedom has come under attack”. In his eyes, America was simply targeted because of its democratic and western values (CNN News, 2001). In the 14 years following this pivotal declaration, an aggressive, pre-emptive approach to terrorism replaced the traditional
So, did NASA actually have enough technology to do this? Even though many Americans believe that the United States sent men to the moon in 1969, there are a few who believe that the moon landing was a hoax. A 1999 Gallup poll showed that 6% of Americans have doubts about the moon landing. Even though 6% of Americans doesn't sound like a lot, it translates to millions of people (Plait). It would have been easier to fake all the photographs in the Nevada desert in Area 51 than to actually perform the mission to the moon. However, NASA did indeed have the technology in the late 1960's to send men to the moon, and all the evidence they brought back proves it.
Ron Howard’s re-creation of the happenings aboard NASA’s Apollo 13 flight combined some of the biggest talent in Hollywood to produce a masterful film. Apollo 13 takes us back in time, to the late 1960’s and early 70’s, when America’s NASA space program was thriving and the world stood aside to see who would reach the moon first. The impacts of space program are still evident to this day. It is even said that by beating the Russians to the moon, we established ourselves are the top power in the world and propelled ourselves to the status we hold today. While today our space program flounders in the public eye, this movie illustrates a time when NASA’s successes and failures held a huge sociological impact on American and even international life.
I. After all, there is approximately 100,000 people in New York that have post-traumatic stress disorder.
Anyone who was old enough to remember the time can probably remember exactly where he or she was and what he or she was doing when he first walked on the moon. Along with the inscription on the plaque placed at the point of the landing ("we came in peace for all mankind"), Armstrong's words are often enough to bring tears to the eyes of nearly every American and indeed much of the world. As great an accomplishment as man's landing on the moon is, however, there are other momentous events that often seem forgotten in the glare of celebrity afforded to the space program's manned missions. How many people can remember where they were when the first man-made object left the bounds of our solar system? How many people can even remember what that object was?
The fact that all six moon landings happened under Nixon’s administration is how the cookie crumbled. People who believe the moon landing is a hoax are accusing NASA of pulling off something so much more complex than actually making it to the moon.
Throughout the nation catastrophes occur on a daily basis; however there are a few catastrophes that have taken national precedence and left a traumatized nation. Most usually these catastrophes are an act of terrorism. Michael Nelson (2010) describes the nature of such terrorism catastrophes as disconcerting, unanticipated and that unnerve “the country’s sense of safety and identity” (p. 20). When such “a traumatic event results in the death of civilians” and “calls the nation’s institutions or values into question” the nation as a whole looks to their leader, our president, to offer solace and calm through a responsive speech (Campbell and Jamieson, 2008, p. 102). In Presidents Creating the Presidency, (2008) the authors have labeled these speeches as a national eulogy in which they usually occur at the sight of the
When talking about the current space program, Neil Degrasse Tyson once said, “I got angry with America, because advancing is not just something you do incrementally. You need innovation as well, so that your advances are revolutionary, not merely evolutionary” (Tyson 3). America used to have the top space program in the world. Being first to the moon excited the country and gave everyone a sense of pride and fulfillment. Lately, though, we have been falling behind in space exploration. A successful space program is needed in America, and here’s why: we are losing our grip on the title as the world superpower and a new age of economics and politics is coming faster than we are prepared for. To be prepared for this new age we need the funds,
~"The 1969 Moon Landing: First Humans to Walk on Another World." Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 7. Detroit: Gale, 2001. U.S. History in Context. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Carl Sagan once said “every planetary civilization will be endangered by impacts from space, every surviving civilization is obliged to become spacefaring—not because of exploratory or romantic zeal, but for the most practical reason imaginable: staying alive. If our long-term survival is at stake, we have a basic responsibility to our species to venture to other worlds.” The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, is executing Sagan’s words every day. President Dwight D. Eisenhower created NASA in 1958 with the purpose of peaceful rather than military space exploration and research to contribute to society. Just 11 years after the creation, NASA put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon, the first humans to accomplish this feat.
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” It was July 20 1969, the day that reshaped our nation and gave us unparalleled dreams for the future. The impact of the day goes far beyond our pride and nationalism; that day would change space exploration and technology forever. Just like a shooting star, that day would give us a glimpse of hope. A chance to see an event so breathtaking and defying, it would be man’s greatest accomplishment in the 20th century. As millions of people watched from their TV sets, a rush of euphoria came over the nation as Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the surface of the moon. It was the first time in the history of mankind that we would step on the surface of another celestial body. John F. Kennedy dared us to dream, he inspired the nation to reach for the moon, to set ourselves apart from the rest of the world. The Space Race was symbolic of many things. Our future as the technically dominate nation was secured in place; just as secure as Old Glory would be, when she was driven down into the soil of the moon. We not only reached the moon, we conquered it as a nation; united.
Did you know that without space exploration we wouldn’t have a lot of our knowledge or technology? I always wanted to help make a rocket fly one day, or be apart of space a corporation.