Six Moon Landing Missions example essay topic

Project Mercury was the United States' first attempt to send humans into space. It began in 1958. The project had three main objectives: to orbit a manned spacecraft around Earth, to see how well humans fared in space, and to recover both the spacecraft and its crew safely. Project Mercury made six manned flights from 1961 to 1963. After the Soviet Union launched 'Sputnik,' the first artificial satellite, the United States decided to start a space program because they didn't want to be beaten by the communists. The first U.S. spaceship was a cone-shaped one-man capsule with a cylinder mounted on top.

It was 6 ft., 10 in. long, and 6 ft., 2 1/2 in. in diameter. A 19 ft., 2 in. escape tower was fastened to the cylinder of the capsule. The rounded, bottom end was covered with a heat shield to protect it against the 3,000 degree heat from atmospheric entry. Before the United States launched any humans into space, they launched an unmanned test flight of the booster and capsule, which carried a chimpanzee.

Each astronaut in Project Mercury got to name his space capsule and added the number 7 to represent the original seven astronauts of Project Mercury. The first man sent into space by the United States was Alan B. Shepard, Jr. He named his space capsule 'Freedom 7. ' He was launched into space on May 5, 1961. He was in suborbital flight for 15 minutes and 28 seconds.

Both Alan Shepard and the 'Freedom 7' were recovered safely. Now, America was finally catching up to the Soviet Union's space technology. President Kennedy awarded Alan Shepard, Jr. the Distinguished Service Medal on May 8, 1961. On May 25, President Kennedy committed the United States to a multi-billion dollar space program for at least the next nine years. President Kennedy has this goal for America, 'before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth.

' The United States's e cond man in space was Virgil I. Grissom. He was a 35 year-old test pilot for the Air Force who had flown 100 combat missions in the Korean War. His capsule was the 'Liberty Bell 7. ' His suborbital flight on July 21, 1961, lasted for 15 minutes and 37 seconds. This flight was successful, except that the spacecraft sank into the ocean shortly after splashdown. The next American launched into space was John H. Glenn, Jr.

He manned the 'Friendship 7,' which was launched on February 20, 1962. He was the first American to orbit the Earth. His total flight time was 4 hours, 55 minutes, and 23 seconds. He spent three hours of that in orbit around the Earth. Malcolm Scott Carpenter manned the fourth Mercury mission. He had a degree in Aeronautical Engineering and had flown U.S. Navy patrols during the Korean War.

He had also attended the Navy Test Pilot School in 1954. His spacecraft was the 'Aurora 7. ' It was launched on May 24, 1962. The Aurora carried out a few experiments during the 4 hours, 56 minutes, and 5 seconds it was in space. One experiment used a colored balloon, which was released outside the capsule, in order to study the atmosphere and reflection of sunlight. Carpenter also observed the effect of weightlessness on water.

Aurora 7 splashed down 250 miles away from the original target area, but the flight was an overall success. Walter M. Schirra, Jr. manned the next Mercury spaceflight. He had flown 90 combat missions in Korea as one of the best pilots in the Air Force. His capsule, the 'Sigma 7,' was launched on October 3, 1962. It was in orbit for 9 hours, 13 minutes, and 11 seconds, the longest any American had been in space so far. The last mission under Project Mercury was 'Faith 7,' which was manned by L. Gordon Cooper, Jr.

It was launched on May 15 and returned May 16, 1963. It lasted for 34 hours, 19 minutes, and 49 seconds. The purpose of this mission was to evaluate the effects of one day in space. This mission was a success with both Cooper and the Faith 7 recovered safely.

In 1967, both America and the Soviet Union were preparing missions that would put humans on the moon. In the United States, these missions were called 'Project Apollo. ' In the Soviet Union, they were called 'Soyuz. ' Both the American and Soviet missions had exceptional safety records during the six years of manned spaceflight. There had been no fatalities during the 16 American missions or the eight Soviet missions so far. On January 27, 1967, after many delays, the three man crew of the first flight under the new 'Project Apollo,' named 'Apollo 1,' was preparing for a routine ground test.

The three-man crew was made up of Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee. The test was to be as realistic as possible. The spacecraft would contain a pure oxygen atmosphere at higher than normal atmospheric pressure to prevent any nitrogen from leaking into the cabin. Plus, the access hatches would be sealed and locked. No danger was expected because the rocket was empty of fuel. Consequently, fire crews were on standby rather than on maximum alert.

At 6: 31 p.m. that day, there was a momentary power surge somewhere in the wiring of the ship. Roger Chaffee said over the intercom, 'Fire, I smell fire. ' There was a fire in the cockpit. It spread rapidly in the pure oxygen atmosphere. Fire crews arrived four and a half minutes after the fire began. But it was already too late to save the three astronauts.

Virgil Grissom and Roger Chaffee were buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Edward White's funeral was held at West Point Military Academy. This tragedy, though, did bring about some positive changes. The design of all future spacecraft was changed.

All plastic switches were replaced with metal ones, and astronauts's pace suits were made from fire-resistant material. Now the air inside spacecraft would be at normal atmospheric pressure and be made of 40% nitrogen and 60% oxygen. Once in flight, the astronauts would breathe pure oxygen at one-third normal pressure. Apollo 7 was the direct successor to Apollo 1. Its crew consisted of mission commander Walter Schirra, Air Force major Donn Ei sele, and civilian Walter Cunningham. Apollo 7 was launched on October 11, 1968.

This flight was very successful, except for the severe cold contracted by Schirra while in orbit. On December 21, 1968, Apollo 8 was launched with astronauts Jim Lovell, Frank Borman, and William Anders on board. The crew returned safely to Earth on December 27. Apollo 9 launched on March 3, 1969 and returned on March 13. Apollo 10 was a final rehearsal for the moon landing. If it was successful, humans would land on the moon in July 1969.

Tom Stafford, John Young, and Eugene Cernan were the crew for Apollo 10. After eight days and three minutes in space, Apollo 10 was back on Earth. Now there were only 51 days until the scheduled moon landing. Neil Armstrong, Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin, and Michael Collins were the crew of Apollo 11. It was launched on July 16, 1969. The crew landed on the moon's Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969.

Neil Armstrong was the first human to set foot on the moon. At 10: 56 p.m. EDT, he said, 'That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. ' They returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. The Apollo program included a large number of unmanned test missions and 12 manned missions. Three of these were Earth orbiting missions (Apollo 7, 9 and Apollo-Soyuz).

Two of these were lunar orbiting missions (Apollo 8 and 10). One was a near-fatal lunar swing by (Apollo 13). There were also six Moon landing missions (Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17). Two astronauts from each of these six moon landing missions walked on the moon. These astronauts were Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, Charles Conrad, Alan Bean, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James Irwin, John Young, Charles Duke, Gene Cernan, and Harrison Schmitt.

They are the only humans to have set foot on another solar system body. The total cost for the Apollo Program was approximately $20,443,600,000. We have learned much from exploring space and in the process begun to find that humans can do anything, even go to the moon.

Bibliography

Mitt on, Jacqueline and Simon; Scholastic Encyclopedia of Space; Scholastic Reference; New York, NY; August 1999.
Jastrow, Robert; Journey to the Stars; Bantam Books; September 1989 Bond, Peter;
Heroes in Space; Basil Blackwell; New York, NY; 1987 web.