They suggested the money and effort involved in sending a man to the moon would be better spent on problems back on earth. Critics pointed to the danger and expense of a venture conducted less for scientific research than for political bragging rights. The Americans, desperate to catch up, poured their technological and economic resources into beating the Russians to the moon. This rivalry led to the Space Race of the 1950s and 60s, with early rounds going to the Soviets, who were first to launch a satellite (Sputnik 1) and then a human being (cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin) into space. had been engaged in a geopolitical rivalry with the Soviet Union, each side trying to prove its ideological and technological superiority over the other. His address reflected the optimistic, adventurous spirit of the era, but also the priorities of the Cold War. Kennedy gave a speech calling for the United States to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. More than that, Apollo 11 awakened a humble sense of wonder as humanity took its first steps into a new frontier of God’s cosmos – a perception that still lingers half a century on.Įight years before Apollo 11, on May 25, 1961, President John F. Despite the political motives behind the venture, there was near-universal awe at the magnitude of the achievement and a feeling that this was a defining event in human history. To this day, the Apollo 11 moon landing remains the mother of all “Where were you?” moments, one of the few remembered for triumph rather than tragedy. Walter Cronkite, the veteran TV news anchor covering the Apollo 11 mission, was left speechless in the moment. With those words, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969, the first human ever to set foot on another world.īack on Earth, an estimated 650 million people – nearly 20 per cent of the world’s population at the time – watched the event on television, while millions more around the globe listened on radio or followed the news as best they could. “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
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