Why was it so important for the US to be the first to send a person to the Moon?

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced before a special joint session of Congress the dramatic and ambitious goal of sending an American safely to the Moon before the end of the decade. He wanted to announce a program that the U.S. had a strong chance at achieving before the Soviet Union.

What is the name of the American that was the first person to walk on the Moon?

astronaut Neil Armstrong
At 10:56 p.m. EDT, American astronaut Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles from Earth, speaks these words to more than a billion people listening at home: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Stepping off the lunar landing module Eagle, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the surface of the …

What happened to the first American flag on the Moon?

The flag was stored externally in the MESA, and was destroyed with the Lunar Module Aquarius when it reentered the Earth’s atmosphere. Because of issues the Apollo 15 crew had deploying experiments, the flag planting happened later in the mission than intended; at the end of the second EVA rather than the first.

How did the Soviet Union take the lead in the space race in 1961 quizlet?

The Russians had taken the lead in the Space Race. The Americans successfully launched their first satellite four months later called the Explorer I. The Soviets again won the race for putting the first man into space. On April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin was the first man to orbit the Earth in the spacecraft Vostok I.

Who was the first American to orbit the Earth and when did it occur?

From Cape Canaveral, Florida, John Herschel Glenn Jr. is successfully launched into space aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft on the first orbital flight by an American astronaut.

How old is Neil Armstrong today?

Nearly 240,000 miles from Earth, Armstrong spoke these words to more than a billion people listening at home: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Armstrong died on August 25, 2012, at age 82.

How did the Soviet Union take the lead in the Space Race in 1961?

By 1959, American observers believed the Soviet Union would be the first to get a human into space because of the time needed to prepare for Mercury’s first launch. On April 12, 1961, the USSR surprised the world again by launching Yuri Gagarin into a single orbit around the Earth in a craft they called Vostok 1.