The Moment That Changed the Destiny of the World: The Story Behind the First Step on the Moon

As a result of the global competition that accelerated in the 21st century, space research, which changed the fate of the world and heralded radical changes, moved to another dimension with the discovery of the Moon. Here is a short story of the first step towards the surface of the Moon

It is an interesting observation to see that the topic of going to the moon is as common as going to the grocery store today. If we look at the issue from half a century ago, rather than under today's conditions, we see that the situation is quite different. Because half a century ago, there was an order and global excitement that was pregnant with radical changes; The leader in the newly-started Space Age had become clear.

To those who blow their horns in the bipolar world order to understand how important it is to set foot on the Moon; It will be enough to look at the care and sensitivity shown by Russia and the United States to the issue.

Far from playing world leadership in the unbearable lightness of landing on the moon's surface, space research, which is the cause of global surprise and excitement, is a milestone for the development of science and technology and the shaping of societies on various axes. On the anniversary of the space revolution, I wanted to tell the story of the subject.

The goal before landing on the Moon: To go into space

While the issues that hundreds of millions of people and even the planet follow with fear, especially the Cuban Crisis, are on the agenda, a new race has begun. The first serious step came from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which constituted one of the two poles of the period, and was the first party to go into space. Far from stopping, the Russians took successive steps and sent a human into space for the first time. Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.

Landing on the moon changed the fate of the world

Having failed to land on the Moon, Russia fell behind in the space race and therefore in the race for global leadership. Because NASA (USA Space Research Center) did what needed to be done by mobilizing all resources for this issue and saved the honor of its country, which was damaged by the activities in space of the opposite pole, Russia. Because on July 20, 1969, "a great leap forward for humanity" took place.

Critical moves in space travel

Russia's activities in space not only made the United States uneasy, but also caused an atmosphere of panic. For this reason, NASA created the "Apollo" program and implemented the program. A rich menu offered with all resources and qualified personnel showed the USA's appetite in this regard.

In 1962, NASA announced the "module" principle. In this way, a method that was not applied in the space race was introduced and a part that could be separated from the main spacecraft was created. When these modules, which were tested under the name "Gemini" for the following 4 years, produced successful results, all that was left was to move forward.

Kennedy, who was the president of the USA at that time, made a promise to his people and challenged the world: "We will be the first to step on the Moon!" And the process, which gained momentum with Apollo 8 on Christmas Eve in 1968, continued with Apollo 9 in 1969.

The next phase of the project heralded great good news when Apollo 10 approached the Moon's surface by 15 km.

There is a message from Kartal to Houston

Apollo 11, carrying Neil Armstrong, who was appointed as the commander of the crew, and the other members of the team, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins, was launched from Houston on July 16, 1969. The calculations at home did not comply with the plan because the process went differently than planned and even alarm bells rang. Because when the "Eagle" module on the Apollo 11 spacecraft approached the Moon, vehicle commander Armstrong realized that they had landed in a rocky area. The fuel situation was critical; While they had the last 3 minutes, Armstrong took the initiative and gave the order to move, landing the vehicle in the Sea of Tranquility. After a short period of silence, a message came from the Moon to 450 million people on earth; the voice belonged to Armstrong and said, “Houstan, this is the Sea of Tranquility. The eagle has landed!” said.

Aldrin followed Armstrong about twenty minutes later and became the second person to leave his footprint on the surface of the Moon. Colins was perhaps the unlucky name of the team because he was not included in the rankings as he had to stay in the car. The rest of Armstrong's words that will go down in history are "'One small step for a man, one giant leap for humanity..." As for the Sea of Tranquility; There is no such name. It went down in history as a name that emerged with the improvisation of Armstrong, the creator of the name.

Gagarin and Komarov were not forgotten in this giant march.

The two astronauts who landed on the Moon left a plaque at the landing point and planted the US flag at the same spot. Meanwhile, astronauts collected approximately 20 kg of stone samples and installed 3 scientific research devices in the area. Armstrong then left a package in memory of Soviet cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov, as well as Apollo 1 astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee, who lost their lives in a crater 60 meters away. The moonwalk adventure, which roughly lasted two and a half hours, lasted a total of 21 hours and 37 minutes, including the research in the vehicle.

About Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong, the world's first space hero, was born in 1930. This hero, who had a love for the sky from a young age, obtained an aviation license at a young age without obtaining any land vehicle license. Armstrong, who also participated in the Vietnam War but continued his aviation training, never deviated from his goal. Our hero, who was first a reserve commander in the Apollo program and then the commander of Apollo 11, became a name that attracted attention with his cold-bloodedness and practical intelligence, and proved that he was worthy of the task given to him.

Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the Moon, never went into space again and began to retire in 1971 and worked as a professor in the field of space research. He received the title and started teaching at the university. Armstrong, who resigned without giving a reason after teaching at the university for 8 years, moved into business life and continued his career there.

His name lives on in thousands of celestial bodies

As can be expected, Armstrong, who was showered with various awards and titles throughout his life, gave his name to the Armstrong crater, which is approximately 50 kilometers away from the landing point of Apollo 11. Also, the asteroid 6469 Armstrong understandably bears his name.

Note: The address "https://apolloinrealtime.org/11/", which makes the 50th anniversary of the first step on the Moon meaningful, gives space conversations from 50 years ago in the minutes you read this article. Would you like to witness this experience?