Man on the Moon by Christine Butterworth
The Story of Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong had always
dreamed of going to the moon. Many people did not believe such a journey
was possible, but in 1969 Armstrong led the team who made the first ever moon
walk. Read about how he achieved this "great leap of mankind".
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NASA's Challenge - to go to the moon!
 |
| US President John F. Kenned |
Around fifty years ago, the United
States of America and Russia were competing with each other to prove that they
were the most powerful country in the world. Space exploration became a key
area in which they could show their superiority.
Russia beat the United States to put the first man in space, when in 1961 Yuri
Gagarin flew into space in his rocket, Vostok 1.
Newly elected US President John F Kennedy decided to show America's might by
challenging NASA to put a man on the moon, in less than ten years.
On
20th July 1969, NASA met President Kennedy's challenge, and Neil Armstrong and
Buzz Aldrin became the first and second men to walk on the moon.
 |
| US President Richard Nixon |
Michael Collins waited for them in orbit around the moon, in the command module
spacecraft that would take them all home.
When they landed, the first words said on the moon were "the Eagle has
landed", and as Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon's surface he said
"that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Shortly after the flag planting, President Richard Nixon spoke to them by a telephone call from his office.
They explored the moon's surface for less than three hours, collecting 22
kilograms of rocks for study back on earth. When they returned to earth they
were welcomed as celebrities, and international heroes!
 |
Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin.
|
Neil Armstrong’s life
achievements
| · At the age of six, Neil went up in a plane called the Tin Goose. |
| · Got his pilot’s license at sixteen. |
| · Joined the Navy to fly planes in the Korean War in 1950. |
| · He was a test pilot for NASA in 1962. |
| · Neil joined the astronaut training programme.. |
| · In 1969 lead the Apollo 11 mission, the rocket that was to land on the Moon. |
| · The Lunar Module (called the Eagle) separates from the Command Module leaving Michael Collins alone. |
| · Neil and Buzz Aldrin are on their way to the Moon. |
| · Neil succeeded in landing the Eagle on the Moon. |
| · Neil steps onto the moon. |
| · Moon’s gravity is so weak that Neil and Buzz finds it hard to walk normally. As the astronauts walk they leave sharp-edged footprints that may stay there for a billion years. |
| · President Nixon congratulates them by telephone. |
| · The astronauts set up two experiments and collect samples of moon rock. |
| · They return to the Eagle and fill the cabin with oxygen. |
| · They join up with Michael Collins and the Command Module. |
| · Their return to Earth will take 3 days. |
| · An hour after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, the astronauts are on their way home, still inside the Module. |
| · They spend the next 21 days in quarantine. |
| · The crew are world heroes. |
Glossary:
aeronautics: the study of aircraft and flying. astronaut/cosmonaut: someone who travels in a spacecraft.
cockpit:
the place in which the pilot sits and controls an aircraft or spacecraft.
crater:
a dip, or hole in the ground, left after a rock has hit the surface.
engineer:
someone who designs and builds engines or machines.
gravity:
the force that pulls everything down to the surface of the Earth, or the Moon.
Houston:
the site of the NASA Space Centre in Texas, USA.
Korean War: the war between North and South Korea from 1950-53.
licence: an official document
that allows someone to drive a car, or fly a plane.
Lunar Module: the part of a spacecraft that travels to the Moon.
NASA:
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the USA.
orbit:
the path taken by something moving round a planet in space.
quarantine: the time a person has to spend alone, to stop a disease from
spreading.
satellite:
something that is sent out to orbit the Earth, or another planet, to collect
information.
solar glare: brightness from the Sun.
sputnik:
the name given to the first Russian satellite sent into space.
supersonic: faster than the speed of sound.
test pilot: a pilot who tests new kinds of aircraft.
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Check
out these websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Armstrong
http://www.spacekids.co.uk/moon/
