A Giant Leap For Mankind: Man on the Moon Larissa Babiak and Keara Reilly Senior Division Website

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Process Paper We chose to research and study the first manned moon landing, Apollo 11, because of its major impact on our society. We believe that the benefits gained through the mission should be valued more in our modern day. We were also inspired by the recently deceased Neil Armstrong, best known as the first man on the moon. He found great pride in the accomplishments of Apollo 11 and the program overall. Our research was conducted using several books related to NASA and Apollo 11, some of which focused on the lives of the most famous astronauts and others that described experiences and relevance of each moon landing. We also used the internet and found a vast amount of useful information on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) website. In addition, we interviewed professor of astrosociology Dr. Eligar Sadeh, whose written work we also used as a reference point. It was also incredibly helpful to be able to gain replies from Apollo astronauts, who we reached out to by mail. Their insight was invaluable. One of our main reasons for deciding to present our project in a website form is that we live in a technologically based society. Seeing how greater numbers of people are using the internet and websites to communicate and gain information day to day, we felt as though it was an appropriate way to organize our research. Secondly, we are also both conscientious people and work well as a team. We were able to work on the project together weekly, and also divided sections of the website that we were responsible for completing prior to our next meeting. Lastly, we found that a website allowed us to experiment with different designs and features that contributed to our project. We were able to include interactive photographs, interview clips and poignant videos. Our topic fits completely under the category: Turning Points in History-People, Ideas, Events. In 1945, the Cold War began, causing the political climate to be very tense between the Soviet Union and United States. Eleven years later, the U.S. Apollo 11 crew began its journey to the moon. The event of landing man on the moon for the first time was a tremendous achievement. As a nation, we were determined to beat the Soviet Union to landing man on the moon, but it meant so much more than winning the challenging Space Race. The United States had succeeded and it was a truly incredible accomplishment to put American men on the moon. Today we look back and value the most memorable parts of Apollo 11, but we also have to find value in the giant leaps that our predecessors during that time made for us in technology, education, and political power. Our nation proved its capability then and the achievement of Apollo 11 will continue to inspire people of all ages now and in the future to shoot for the moon. Word Count: 500