That said, the idea was inspiring, and-especially after the Russians launched Sputnik, the world’s first satellite, in 1957-America had been ramping up its emphasis on what today we call STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education, hoping to train a new generation to build and launch rockets to the moon and beyond. And while there was a great deal of domestic unrest during the 1960s-Vietnam War protests, civil rights demonstrations, women’s movements, and more-and plenty of people thought we should be concentrating on our problems on Earth instead of trying to land on the moon, the Apollo 11 landing was arguably one of the most profound moments of what sociologist of religion Robert Bellah called “American civil religion: a nonsectarian, nondenominational faith that American symbols, rituals, and beliefs are in some way sacred.” And, when it finally happened, even people who thought the effort was a financial drain or an unnecessary military exercise were pretty profoundly moved by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins’ journey to and from the moon.
was nowhere near prepared for a program on the scale of Apollo when President Kennedy made his speech to Congress in May 1961, challenging the nation to have a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Not only did the Russians have better rockets at the time, but the extent of the effort was unimaginable in the early 1960s.
While scientifically-plausible plans to reach the moon had been circulating since the early 1950s, the U.S. The moon landing was a lot of things to a lot of people. On the one hand, the whole concept of a “moonshot”-a technical feat that seemed almost impossible to achieve-came from this seemingly unattainable goal of putting an American on the moon. But did it unite us, even for a brief moment? Or did it divide us, as some people viewed the mission as a waste of national resources? to expand its space exploration endeavors, answers some questions about the historic Apollo 11 mission.įrom a technological perspective, the moon landing accelerated all sorts of innovations in rockets, computers, and other space-age materials. Newell, assistant professor of religious studies in the University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences and author of Destined for the Stars: Faith, the Future, and America’s Final Frontier, which explores what drove the U.S. The space-age technology developed by NASA to send humans to the moon and return them safely to Earth accelerated innovations in everything from computers and medicine to electronics and oceanography.īut did the moon landing unite us as a people, if only for a short time? Was the space race really about beating the Russians to the moon? And what of the future-should we really go back and beyond?Ĭatherine L. A “blow rubber molding” process for space helmets that resulted in a better athletic shoe. Digital image processing technology used in lifesaving medical and diagnostic tools such as CAT scans and MRIs.
Buzz race into space helmet messages drivers#
Liquid-cooled garments that keep firefighters and racecar drivers from getting too hot.
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