“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for humanity.” This is one of the most iconic quotes in American history. NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Association, has a rich history, including the Apollo 11 mission and its astronauts. Apollo 11, the first successful moon landing, was a significant American achievement and an important historical event. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original EssayNASA was established by President Eisenhower on October 1, 1958. It was a response towards the Soviet Union in the race to space. Four reasons NASA was established are to research and explain space, national defense, national pride, and scientific or technological value. Three days after NASA was founded, the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite, taking the lead in the space race. Sputnik had a “Pearl Harbor effect” on the United States and forced Americans to fund more space research. When the Soviet Union sent the first man into space, the United States was shocked. John F. Kennedy set a goal of putting a man on the Moon by the end of the 1960s because he believed the United States was more technologically advanced than the Soviet Union. The Apollo 11 astronauts played a key role in defeating the Soviet Union in space. Race. Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin played a fundamental role in the completion of the Apollo 11 mission. He was selected as part of NASA's third batch in 1963, and in 1966 he flew on the final mission of the Gemini program. He is the second man to set foot on the Moon alongside Neil Armstrong. He spent about 20 hours on the Moon. Before working with NASA, he returned to the Air Force where he had previously worked. He was the only other person to walk on the moon other than Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 mission. Neil Armstrong became interested in flying from the age of two because his father took him to the National Air Races in Cleveland, Ohio. He started taking flying lessons at the age of 15. He followed them to Wapakoneta, Ohio. Before he even knew how to drive, he had obtained his student pilot's license after only one year of flying lessons. Shortly after Armstrong completed high school, he received a U.S. Navy scholarship, and in 1949 he began studying aeronautics at Purdue University. He was part of the second class of astronauts chosen by NASA in 1962. He is best remembered for being the first person to ever set foot on the moon. Michael Collins was the third astronaut on the Apollo 11 mission, but he never set foot on the moon. Before NASA, Collins attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He was an experienced fighter pilot and test pilot at the Air Force Flight Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California. He was part of the third group of astronauts selected for NASA in 1963. He was best known for being the command module pilot of Apollo 11. Apollo 11 was the first successful mission to land a man on the moon, and it was an important event in world history. On Wednesday, July 16, 1969, a 363-foot-tall silver Saturn 5 rocket was positioned on Launch Pad 39A at the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft lifted off from the ground at 9:32 a.m. Just two minutes after liftoff, the spacecraft measured 30 miles tall. After that, the first stage was separated due to staging and ignition. The second floor just caught fireAfter. By around 9:45 a.m., the spacecraft had completed a complete orbit around Earth. After the third stage separated, the spacecraft's speed increased to 17,432 mph. At 12:49 a.m., Columbia, the main spacecraft, separated from Saturn's lunar module and third stage. The lunar module connection disconnected, so the Columbia and Eagle continued on their own. The spacecraft had to start rotating slowly to propagate the Sun's "heat effect." There was a minor course correction maneuver. This was during a 73 hour coast. Michael Collins had to find several stars, but he found the task difficult. The minor course correction was completed at 1217 on 17 July. An astronaut named James Lovell was a capsule commander in Houston and he was in communication with Buzz Aldrin. He had previously been Aldrin's partner in 1966 on the Gemini 12 mission. They talked about the difference between the Gemini 12 spacecraft and the Apollo 11 spacecraft. They also talked about how much work life is and maintaining a spacecraft. On top of that, the astronauts positioned the spacecraft in "barbecue mode," which meant the Sun would face one side of the craft for about eighty hours. The next day, July 18, the crew prepared to go through a tunnel. the command module to the lunar module. They were going to check if he had survived the entire journey. Buzz Aldrin held a television camera as they walked through the door. Millions of Americans nervously watched the situation on their televisions. Everyone was eager and excited to find out what would happen next. On July 19, at 1:28 p.m., the spacecraft's engine ran for six minutes. This helped slow the spacecraft in the Moon's gravitational pull. The crew watched with joy as their first glimpse of the moon and its landing spot. Around 5:45 p.m., the engine started again to help frame the lunar orbit into a more circular orbit. The spacecraft would undertake a 61-mile by 74-mile orbit every two hours. July 20, 1969 was the legendary day that will be remembered in history as the day of the very first moon landing. Around 9:30 a.m., Buzz Aldrin enters the lunar module. At around 1:45 p.m., the lunar module separated from the command module, which slowly remained in orbit around the Moon while Michael Collins was still on board. At 3:08 a.m. on July 21, the descent engine started in the lunar module, and it began to descend and set on the moon. As Armstrong prepared to land on the moon, two computer alarms went off. They then messed up the automatic guidance system, and it guided the spacecraft towards a large crater. Armstrong took manual control and successfully landed the lunar module on the moon's surface at 4:15 p.m. Armstrong and Aldrin installed lunar suites. At 10:39 p.m., Armstrong steadily descended the ladder to the surface, where Armstrong proclaimed the iconic phrase: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Armstrong took photos of the moon's surface and collected samples of lunar dust. Armstrong placed a plaque on the moon that read "Here men from planet Earth first set foot on the moon, in July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind." Aldrin planted an eight-foot pole with a 3x5 American flag attached to the surface of the moon. At 11:47 p.m., Aldrin and Armstrong spoke on the telephone with President Nixon. Nixon eulogized: “For every American, this must be the proudest day of our lives.” Nixon spoke from the.