Apollo 11- The 1969 Moon Landing (Past Moments from History)

Discover the incredible story of the Apollo 11 1969 Moon landing in this exciting episode of Check This Out!, a fun and educational history podcast for elementary-aged kids and their families. 

Join hosts Amy and Cece as they explore the thrilling journey to the Moon, highlighting the science, history, and teamwork behind NASA's famous Apollo 11 mission. Learn how the Cold War and the Space Race fueled America's race to the stars, the daring astronauts who made history, and the groundbreaking achievement of walking on the Moon for the first time. Perfect for young explorers and curious minds, this episode encourages family discussions about science, history, and dreaming big. Tune in and get inspired to reach for the stars!

#MoonLanding #Apollo11 #SpaceRace #NASA #HistoryForKids #KidsEducation #SpaceExploration #MoonMission #KidsHistoryPodcast #STEMeducation #Astronomy #OuterSpace #HistoryMatters #LearnWithKids #SpaceDiscovery #SpaceHistory #KidsLearning #EducationalPodcast #TeenScience #DreamBig

Transcript

Have you ever dreamed of traveling to outer space? Walking on the moon? Do you wonder about what it would be like to go up in a rocket ship and see the earth from space? 

Cece: Yes! 

For generations humans have looked up at the sky and wondered what it would be like to go to space.  Our ancestors mapped the stars and created stories about the sky.   You’ve probably even heard some of those stories if you listened to our episode about the Aurora Borealis!   

In the 1950s and 60s something called the Space Race Started and humanity stopped dreaming about space and started using science to make dreams of outer space a reality

Cece: More on that later 

On July 20, 1969, humans walked on the Moon for the first time. 

American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin were the first humans ever to land on the moon. A few hours after landing Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. 

Do you know the famous quote he said as he took his first step?

Ceec: Ummmm I’ve got nothing 

After stepping on the moon Armstrong said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." 

Cece: that's a good quote 

These astronauts changed history by going to the moon… and it was part of the  Apollo 11 mission.  This mission took place 8 years after President John F. Kennedy announced a goal to congress of landing a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. 

Today we are going to talk about this past moment from history… the apollo 11 mission and the 1969 moon landing…. 

Cece: Let’s get into it! 

Here we go! 

Cece: Welcome to Check this out! Podcast for kids 

And their grownups where we explore people, places, ponderings and past moments from history that shape the world around us.  My name is Amy Contreras, and I’m Cece.  

Today’s episode is all about the 1969 moon landing and the Apollo 11 mission that made it possible.  

Cece: This was a historic moment! (NEED TO RECORD) 

It was! But as always, we can’t just talk about the moment itself.  HIstory has so many intersecting factors, we have to take a step back and talk a little bit about the world and what led to the apollo 11 mission.  

Cece: Makes sense 

The journey to the moon was decades in the making and there were so many people involved.  Let’s get a little context.  

Cece: Check this out 

In 1961, President John Kennedy set a challenge to the United States congress  to send a man to the Moon before the end of the 1960s.  

Cece: Why mama? 

President Kennedy set this goal because the US wanted to win something called the Space Race

Cece: What was that?  

Remember the cold war we’ve talked about before? The cold war was a period of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War 2 when they were both trying to be the top world power.  What we talk about as the Space Race actually began as an arms race between the militaries of the United States and the Soviet Union. 

Cece: What does that mean? 

It basically means both countries were trying to beat each other in having the best army, science, and advancement.  It was a contest of who was better.   

Cece: Got it 

In 1961 the Cold war was still going strong when JFK set his goal to send a man to the moon.  At that point the US was losing the space race to the soviets, which felt like a big deal because of the ongoing cold war.  The Soviet Union successfully launched the Sputnik satellite on October 4, 1957, beating the United States to space. 

Cece: But that wasn’t all 

You’re right Cece. The early years of the Space Race was all about who was first because no one had ever gone to space before- there were a lot of “firsts” to chase after.  

Cece: Like waht mama? 

Well things like Who had the first satellite in space, the first man in space, the first woman in space, the first spacewalk. For the US these early firsts were a series of defeats. The soviet union kept doing them first.   So the US was losing the space race and they were determined to turn it around.  

For many Americans, when Americans landed on the Moon first they thought of that as the end of the Space Race.  Which wasn’t entirely true.  The  race to get space slowed down a little after the first human landed on the Moon in 1969, but keep in mind the Cold War still continued on for another 20 years. 

If you remember from our episode on the Berlin Wall, in1989 the Berlin Wall fell and Germany was reunified. In 1991, the Soviet Union itself dissolved, and when that happened the Cold War ended.

Cece: I remember hearing about that! 

After that the US and Russia started partnering more cooperatively with all things space related.  Now you’ve a good idea of why this past moment of landing on the moon was such a big deal!  

So now that we have all this context we know a few things… 

1. the space race was in full swing along with the Cold War 
2. the US was trying to beat the soviet union to landing on the moon first
3. and the US was behind

Cece: There are a lot of things to keep track of!     (Needs to be recorded) 

NASA is the government agency who was responsible for making space travel happen.  Do you know what NASA stands for? 

1. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
2. National Air Services Alliance 
3. North American Space Adventure 

Cece: I think its A 

You’re right! NASA, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was the organization responsible for the United States efforts in space travel.  NASA was created in response to the early success the Soviet Union had in the space race.  And NASA still exists today!  

Cece: I learned something new today 

NASA officially opened on October 1st, 1958.   Just six days after NASA formally started, America’s first human spaceflight program started- it was called Project Mercury. There were several projects and missions before the Apollo mission we are talking about today.  

Project Mercury’s manned flights happened from May 1961 to May 1963.  During that time they launched six missions from Cape Canaveral. Project Mercury was the United States' first human spaceflight program and it was essential for the ability for humans to land on the moon just a few years later.  

Cece: I wish I could have seen that 

After project Mercury came another Nasa project, called Gemini.  Project Gemini happened between the Mercury program and the Apollo program.  Remember the Apollo program is what put the first human on the Moon. 

To help you keep it straight you can think about it like this. 

• Project Mercury sent astronauts to space for longer periods of time than ever before. This allowed NASA to learn more about space's effects on the human body. NASA needed to understand this to get ready to send humans to the Moon. 
• The Gemini program flew 10 crews to space, and included feats such as the first U.S. spacewalk.

Cece: That is quite the accomplishment 

Yes! NASA needed projects Mercury and Gemini to make the Apollo mission possible.  

Cece: Good to know 

Now we’ve got all that straight, let's focus on the past moment we are talking about today.  The Apollo 11 mission.  

Cece: Tell me everything! 

On July 16, 1969 Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy.  The men on board were Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin. This mission that took U.S. astronauts to the Moon was NASA’s fifth crewed Apollo mission. 

Cece: Heres a fun fact

Hundreds of thousands of people traveled to Cape Kennedy to watch the launch live 

Cece: I had no idea! 

Even thousands more watched the launch on their TVs.  After they launched, the astronauts completed an orbit or loop around the earth and then headed to the moon.  These astronauts traveled 240,000 miles in just 76 hours!  

Cece: Thats a big number!  

Its massive!  Apollo 11 entered into a lunar orbit on July 19.  So it took them about 3 days to get from earth to the moon’s orbit.  

Cece: Whoa thats incredible 

The space ship had 2 parts.  There was the command module, which was called Columbia and the Lunar module, which was called the eagle.  On the morning of July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin crawled from the command module, Columbia, through a tunnel to the lunar module, Eagle.

Cece: Can you explain that to me? 

Sure! Check this out.  

The Apollo 11 Command Module, "Columbia," was the living quarters for the three-person crew while they traveled through space and its the part of the ship that eventually returned to earth.  The Lunar Module was the two-person craft used by Armstrong and Aldrin and was designed specifically to land on the Moon's surface,  

Cece: That is cool 

Armstrong and Aldrin piloted Eagle to the moon’s surface; they landed in a part of the moon known as the Sea of Tranquility.

Cece: Then what happened? 

At 4:17 PM U.S. Eastern Daylight Time, Commander Neil Armstrong said over the radio, “The Eagle has landed.” so if you’ve ever heard someone say that before, now you know where that quote comes from! 

Cece: Fancy 

At 10:56 PM EDT on July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the moon’s surface and he said his famous quote “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”  Buzz Aldrin stepped out onto the moon a few minutes later.  

Now you may be wondering… what did the astronauts do on the moon? Other than being the first to land… 

Cece: Spill the tea! 

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent 21 hours, 36 minutes on the moon’s surface.

The astronauts carried out important experiments while on the surface of the moon. They also picked up bits of Moon dirt and rocks to bring back to Earth to be studied.

They left behind an American flag, a patch honouring the fallen Apollo 1 crew and a plaque on one of the Eagle's legs.

Cece: What does it say? (NEEDS TO BE RECORDED) 

The plaque  reads: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind."

Cece: We talked about a lot! 

We sure did!  Here are some final facts about the The 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing: 

Cece: Fact #1

• About 400,000 people worked on the Apollo 11 mission but there were only 3 astronauts who traveled.  Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin.

Cece: Fact #2

• It cost Nasa around $25 billion 

Cece: Fact #3 

• It took four days, six hours and 45 minutes to travel the 240,000 miles to get to the Moon. By the time the crew landed back on Earth, the mission had taken 8 days, 3 hours, 18 minutes and 35 seconds

Cece: Fact #4

• President Kennedy never got to see his dream come true as he was killed in 1963. 

Cece: what was your favorite fact? 

When the astronauts returned to earth they splashed down in the ocean!  They entered the earth’s atmosphere going SUPER FAST.  24,000 miles per hour to be exact.  

Cece: Oh my goodness! 

That is wayyyyy faster than your mom and dad drive.  

Cece: Ha ha ha 

The Apollo 11 landed in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii on July 24. The spacecraft is now located at the Smithsonian in washington DC.  

Cece: That is cool! 

While the Apollo 11 mission was the first moon landing it wasn’t the last.  A total of 12 people have walked on the Moon since the 1969 landing.  The Apollo 11 mission proved the space and scientific capabilities of the US to the world and laid the groundwork for future space travel and progress.  

This past moment is an example of what can happen when people come together to dream big and imaging what might be possible.  Believe it or not, humanity has now explore more of outer space than we have of our oceans.  Even though the Space Race is over there continue to be new discoveries and trips to the moon and beyond.  

If you listen to our podcast regularly you know we don’t just like talking about people, places, and past moments from history… 

Cece: We also love to rhyme! 

We wrote you a poem about the Apollo 11 mission and the 1969 moon landing.  

Cece: Here we go

In space the astronauts of Apollo 11 flew 

From earth to the moon they went where no one knew 

Racing for history they landed on the moon 

This first step was over too soon 

Aldrin, Armstrong and collins a crew unlike any before

Landed on July 20th and opened the door  

They came back safe thanks to NASA and team 

A space race challenge, a living dream 

Thanks for listening to another episode of Check this out!  Here at the “check this out” podcast we know there is a lot of information and it can be overwhelming to find accurate information! This podcast is a tool for you to help you do something called “citing your sources”. As you get older and do projects for school you’ll learn that certain types of websites or information sources aren’t verified or have evidence and documentation to back them up.  On “check this out” we use verified sources to build the stories you hear about.  

Verified sources are materials or information that have been confirmed for accuracy, and credibility through an evaluation process!  Our sources for this week's episode are NASA, The smithsonians national air and space museum, History.com, Encyclopedia Britannica, the BBC, and national geographic 

In our next episode we will be talking about the past moment that started the French Revolution - please join us for an exciting episode!  

 Cece: Thanks for listening, see you next episode, don’t forget to subscribe 

https://airandspace.si.edu/explore/topics/spaceflight/gemini-program 

https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/technology-it-took-get-moon 

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230516-apollo-how-moon-missions-changed-the-modern-world 

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/history-space-exploration/ 

https://www.nasa.gov/history/apollo-11-mission-overview/ 

https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/what-was-space-race 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/48789792 

https://www.britannica.com/story/moon-landing-just-the-facts

https://airandspace.si.edu/explore/stories/apollo-11-moon-landing 

https://www.history.com/articles/moon-landing-1969