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The "Space Race" saw a broad set of accomplishments by both the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was the first country to launch a satellite into space, the first to send and receive data communications from space (Luna 1), the first man-made probe to hit the moon (Luna 2), The first to photograph the moon's far side (Luna 3) the first to put an animal (dog) in space and return it safely back to earth, the first to put a man in space (Yuri Gagarin), the first to put a woman into space (Valentina Tereshkova), the first to send a satellite to the moon and around it, the first soft landing on the moon (Luna 9), the first to send a satellite to Mars and Venus, and the first man to walk in space (Alexi Leonov). The United States lagged behind the Soviet Union in many respects, but only because they took fewer chances. The United States trained it's astronauts to actually fly the vehicle, even in case of emergency. The Soviet Union put an envelope in the cockpit to be opened only in an emergency. The Soviet cosmonauts didn't actually fly their spacecrafts, they were merely passengers. The space race began following World War II when both the United States and the Soviet Union began an intensive search for the men who built and designed the German V-2 rocket that pounded Great Britian. The Soviets captured a few of the men, but the United States was lucky enough to get the top designers. After the Soviets questioned their captives, they sent them to gulags in Siberia. The United States put people like Werner von Braun in charge of building rockets for the US Army. The Space Race continued for about 45 years as a weapon of the Cold War. The purpose of the Space Race was to compare technological superiority of the two countries. It was widely percieved that the country to get to space first would be the superior country. Since the Soviet Union got to space first, both manned and unmanned, an embarrassed United States was forced to turn space from a place of potential military hostility to a place of scientific and human exploration. On 20 April 1961, about one week after Gagarin's flight, American President John F. Kennedy sent a memo to Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, asking him to look into the state of America's space program, and into programs that could offer NASA the opportunity to catch up to the Soviets. Johnson responded about one week later, concluding that the United States needed to do much more to reach a position of leadership. Johnson recommended that a piloted moon landing was far enough in the future that it was likely that the United States could achieve it first. On May 25, Kennedy announced his support for the Apollo program and redefined the ultimate goal of the Space Race in an address to a special joint session of Congress: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." His justification for the Moon Race was both that it was vital to national security and that it would focus the nation's energies in other scientific and social fields. He expressed his reasoning in the famous "We choose the Moon" speech, on September 12, 1962, before a large crowd at Rice University Stadium, in Houston, Texas. Over the next 7 years, many things happened that put the United States in front of the Soviet Union. While the Soviets were busy building a rocket large enough to to go the moon, the United States, which already had a Saturn V waiting, was busy training astronauts and giving them the experience they would need to land on the moon and return safely back to earth. The Gemini program gave mankind its first rendezvous and docking in space. The United States also used to time to perfect the Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) procedures needed in case of a space emergency. Meanwhile most of the Soviet rockets were blowing up on the pad or during launch. The main reason the United States plunged ahead of the Soviets was the death of Sergei Korolev, the Soviet chief rocket designer, who was working on sending a cosmonaut to the moon. His death set the Soviets back about 2 years while they scrambled to finish their moon rocket. The Soviet Union put all its effort into Korolev, who not only designed and built the rockets, but also had to deal with the Politburo to get funding for his projects, while the United States segregated those activities among several people. When Korolev died, it was as if the Soviets lost 6 good men. By landing a man on the moon first, the United States proved to the world that it's technology and free-enterprise system was superior to the communist ways of the Soviet Union. It helped end the Cold War and brought peace and understanding between the two rival super-powers. Today, the United States and Russia (the former Soviet Union) are working peacefully together on the International Space Station.
What else can I help you with?
What year was the first man on the moon?
1969 is when the first man on the moon Neil Armstrong took man's first steps on the moon.
What is the name of the 1st man on the Moon?
The name of the first man on the moon was Neil Armstrong.
Was mr Jones the first man to walk on the moon?
No Mr Jones was not the first man to walk on the moon.
Was the first man on the moon from the US in June of 1969?
The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.
Is 1969 the first time man tired to go to the moon?
No, 1969 was not the first time man tried to get to the moon, but 1969 was the year when man landed on the moon.
What are the importance of moon to the activities of man on earth?
one importance of the moon is, that it can cause phenomenon such as eclipse, tides, phases of the moon and gravitational pull
What year was the first man on the moon?
1969 is when the first man on the moon Neil Armstrong took man's first steps on the moon.
Who was the first man on th moon?
Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon.
What is the name of the 1st man on the Moon?
The name of the first man on the moon was Neil Armstrong.
Who really was the first man on the moon?
Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon.
In what year did man first walk on moon?
Man first walked on the moon in 1969.
In what year did the first man walk on the moon?
Man first walked on the moon in 1969.
Who was the first man ever to land on the moon?
Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon.
What is the man name that first step of moon?
Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon.
What is the name of the first man on the moon in 1969?
The name of the first man on the moon was Neil Armstrong.
Was mr Jones the first man to walk on the moon?
No Mr Jones was not the first man to walk on the moon.
Was the first man on the moon from the US in June of 1969?
The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.The first man on the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, but it was in July of 1969, not June.
