US+Race+to+the+Moon

= = = Significance =
 * ====The US race to the moon, also known as the space race, was a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union for superiority in space exploration.====


 * ====The US and Soviet Union were racing to be the first to get artificial satellites, sub-orbital and orbital human space flights around the Earth, and voyages to the moon.====

= Impact =
 * ====Towards the end of the Cold War the United States and Soviet Union agreed to build a space station and go through with other joint expeditions is space.====

= Other Information =
 * ====The Soviet Union and The United States were both superpowers.====


 * ====President Kennedy generally focused on getting a man on the moon before the Soviet Union. So overall, it became a race to the moon.====

--For example, The Soviet Union first launches the satellite Sputnik on October 4th, 1957. -- Also, on October 4th, 1959 the Soviet Union sent Luna 3 to orbit around the moon.
 * ====When the space race first began it was a race to get "firsts"====


 * ====America's "first" was on January 31, 1958, when they launched a satellite called Explorer 1 into space.====


 * ====The Soviet Union had a lead on the United States for most of the Cold War, this set American's to believe they would not win, Kennedy later gave a speech which boosted American's morale.====

--February 20th, 1962 John Glenn orbited the Earth in a space capsule to prove that longer trips were possible.
 * ====National Aeronautics and Space Administation (NASA) began Project Mercury (1958). Project Mercury goal was to develop technology necessary to send humans into space.====


 * ====In 1967 Apollo 1 exploded on the launch pad, killing three astronauts, the Apollo project was suspended for about a year.====


 * ====Apollo 11 successfully landed on the moon on July 24th, 1969. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first American men on the moon.====

= Primary Source: John F. Kennedy =


 * ====May 25th, 1961 President Kennedy declared that the United States would be the first nation to put a man on the moon.====


 * ===="First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth." -President John F. Kennedy====

= Fun Facts =


 * ====May 25th, 1961 When President Kennedy brought up the idea of a man landing on the moon, the total time spent in space by an American was just about 15 minutes====


 * ====The first American in space was Alan Shepard====





Work Cited
"Space Race Exhibition." N.p., 2002. Web. 27 Apr 2011. . Coffey, Jerry. "Who Won the Space Race." N.p., February 24th, 2011. Web. 27 Apr 2011. . Nagel, Rob. //Spa////ce Exploration Almanac//. Volume 1. USA: Thomson Gale, 2005. 106-127. Print. Saari, Peggy. //Space Exploration Primary Sources//. USA: Thomson Gakw, 2005. 50-59. Print.