Why Is Apollo 13 Important

601 Words2 Pages

Apollo 13 is significant in understanding the Cold War and US History because it gives insight on the emotional and personal aspects at this time. Apollo 13 shows that the Cold War meant more to Americans than the events going on and how they were caused. Apollo 13 emphasized the impact the Apollo 13 mission had on the families of the astronauts. Families (wives, children, and parents) were immensely worried about their loved ones being launched into space, but they were also overjoyed with seeing them live their dreams of going to the moon. These emotions intensified as the launch came near and finally when the mission took off. James Lovell’s wife, for example, had nightmares of Lovell getting into an accident and drifting off in space. His mother, on the other hand, believed that he would successfully come back to Earth, when she said, “If they could launch a washing machine into space, my Jimmy can drive it back.” The Cold War, though not a military-based war, was an emotional time for Americans. …show more content…

When Gene Kranz, director of the control center, said to his crew, “We sure as well are not going to lose a man in space on my watch,” it shows how determined and persistent NASA was in successfully bringing the astronauts back alive. This can be tied with the mission of America as a whole at the time of the space race. The United States was determined to be more of a world power than the Soviet Union. We worked to be stronger in nuclear arms and in successfully exploring outer space, no matter how hard or how long it would take. President JFK said in a public speech predicted that in that decade, we would reach the moon. Furthermore, even when America faced disaster and failure, we picked up those pieces and made the best situation of it, just as with the Apollo 13

Open Document