The day the first human stepped on the Moon – level 3

21-07-1969

In the 1960s, the Soviet Union and the US were rivals in the Space Race, and they wanted to get the first person to the moon. The Soviet Union had already successfully launched the first artificial satellite and the first man into the earth’s orbit, and the US wasn’t ready to suffer another defeat.

More than 400,000 scientists, technicians and designers participated in the US’s Apollo mission. The crew consisted of commander Neil Armstrong and two pilots, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins, who had trained for the mission for over 18 months. On July 16, 1969, the Saturn V rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, setting out on a 400-thousand-kilometer journey to the earth’s closest companion in the solar system.

The trip to the moon took just over three days. After achieving the moon’s orbit, Armstrong and Aldrin transferred into the Lunar Module, and they began their descent.

On July 21, 1969, Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon and his first words were, ’that’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for a mankind’.

Difficult words: rival (a person or thing competing with another in the same field or activity), artificial satellite (a manmade object that goes around the earth), descent (going down).

What inspired and motivated the US to pursue the Apollo mission?

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