Historical debate on Apollo 11 moon landing authenticity and significance

Apollo Moon Landing

It is interesting that when a researcher types in "Apollo Moon Landing" on Google, the second link that comes up is "Moon landing conspiracy theories"; and entering the site the shocking revelation is that up to 20% of Americans surveyed believed that the moon landings were faked. The Fox News TV network even ran a documentary with a conspiracy theory as its editorial backbone ("Did We Land on The Moon?"). Of course such a huge undertaking would be very difficult to fake, and in this case there was no fakery. Notwithstanding assertions to the contrary by Fox News and others, American astronauts did in fact land on the moon on six occasions; this paper delves into the first landing by Apollo 11.

John F. Kennedy's Vision for a Moon Landing -- How it got Started

Only a few months after entering the White House (on April 20, 1961) President Kennedy sent a memo to Vice President Lyndon Johnson asking if the U.S. has the technology to put a laboratory in space, or fly around the moon, "…or by a rocket to land on the moon, or by a rocket to go the moon and back with a man?" (NASA / Apollo: A Retrospective Analysis). Kennedy wanted to know if the space programs was "working 24 hours a day on existing programs" and "if not, why not?" Clearly the president was responding to the surprising orbit around the world that Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin took on April 12, 1961. The president knew there was to be a space race and he wanted America to be first to land on the moon. Gagarin's flight in earth orbit took only 1 hour and 48 minutes, but that shook the foundations of American technology and pride, and moved Kennedy to action.

Lyndon Johnson sent a memo to Wernher von Braun, who helped develop the V-2 rocket for Nazi Germany during WWII and was, at that time, Director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. In Johnson's memo the vice president asked von Braun if the U.S. had a chance of beating the Soviets to the moon; von Braun replied that "…we have an excellent chance of beating the Soviets to the first landing of a crew on the moon (including return capability, of course)…with an all-out crash program I think we could accomplish this objective in 1967/68," von Braun replied to Johnson on April 29, 1961 (NASA).

After Johnson reported his findings to Kennedy, the president spoke to a joint session of Congress, saying "…We go into space because whatever mankind must undertake, free men must fully share." He went on to say that American must meet a goal, "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." He pointed out how impressive this achievement will be "to mankind," and it will be hugely important for "the long-range exploration of space" (NASA).

The Moon Mission Preliminaries

Leading up to the Apollo 11 flight to the moon and back were several important steps. One was the Mercury project, including flights that lasted 15 minutes in "near-orbit" in May and July, 1961. In February, 1962, John Glenn orbited the earth three times and that flight was duplicated by Scott Carpenter in May, 1962. Other Mercury flights lasted up to 34 hours, concluding in May 1963 (Gordon Cooper was the astronaut).

Next was the Gemini program, which featured 10 flights to test equipment and Gemini IV featured a space walk by Edward White. The Apollo program started with Apollo 8, which went to the moon, circled the moon, and returned two days after Christmas, 1968. Apollo 8 orbited the moon ten times, over a period of 20 hours, and many photos were made close-up of the moon. But the photographs of earth taken by the astronauts aboard Apollo 8 were so stunning it raised the consciousness of many people that had perhaps been a bit skeptical about traveling to the moon. Moreover, on Christmas Eve, 1968, the Apollo astronauts broadcast a program that included the first 10 verses of the Book of Genesis, the most watched television program worldwide of any previous televised program.

Then, after Apollo 9 and 10 had also gone to the moon and back, Apollo 11, on July 16, 1969, took off from the Kennedy Space Center. The huge vehicle (with rocket boosters) stood 363 feet tall and had a crew of three. Neil Armstrong was the commander; Michael Collins was the Command Module Pilot, and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin was the Lunar Module Pilot. The Lunar landing occurred at 3:17 P.M. east coast time on July 20. On July 21, after the astronauts had walked on the moon, put an American flag on the moon, and gathered some moon rocks, the Lunar Module lifted off from the moon and docked with the service module, returning safely to earth on July 24 at ten minutes to noon east coast time.

Benefits from the Apollo Missions

NASA has compiled a list of benefits that resulted from the Apollo program, including NASA's space suit technology, which is used in numerous applications (stronger than steel and weighs less than five ounces per square foot). Astronaut flight suits are now used by firefighters and contain a fabric called "Durette" that will not burn. Also a breathing system was developed by NASA that is now used by firefighters (facemask, frame, harness and air bottle were innovated from the space program). Solar panels were developed by NASA which are now used in calculators, street lights, in the International Space Station and have myriad applications. It is a given that solar collectors will one day replace electrical generating plants that use coal, oil, and natural gas.