Battle for the Moon: 1957-1969
July 20, 1969. Nearly six hundred million people have their eyes glued to their televisions: Neil Armstrong is just about to make one of mankind’s oldest dreams come true. After more than twenty years of intense struggle between the Americans and the Soviets, the biggest adventure for humanity in the 20th century has just been achieved. As a climax of the Cold War, the conquest of the moon was a true saga, passionate, epic and filled with twists and turns. It wasn’t just a scientific competition between East and West; It was also a fabulous adventure combining political history, technological exploits, acts of bravery and personal dramas.
Episodes
The space race between the Americans and Soviets began at the end of the 1950s, against the backdrop of the Cold War. After a string of successful space flights by the USSR, America responded by forming NASA and launching the Mercury program. The goal was to catch up with the Russians and send a man into space. Mercury’s astronauts became the new American heroes, their wives appearing on the front of magazines.
America pulled out all the stops to fulfill Kennedy’s promise made in 1962 to put a man on the Moon before the end of the decade. After the Gemini program, which allowed NASA to make up ground on its rival, America embarked on the Apollo program. This began with the Apollo 1 tragedy, when three astronauts died during an exercise, and culminated with the triumph of Apollo 11. On 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon, as the whole world watched in wonder.
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