July 20 marks the 55th anniversary of one of the most remarkable milestones in human history — the Apollo 11 mission. On this day in 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the Moon.
- History
"Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed.” “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” “Magnificent desolation.”
Three phrases that recall humanity’s first landing on and exploration of the lunar surface. In July 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin completed humanity’s first landing on the Moon.
Neil Amonstrong, Michael Collins, Edward Buzz Aldrin
créditos: NASA
They fulfilled the President John F. Kennedy’s national goal, set in May 1961, to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to the Earth before the end of the decade.
Scientists began examining the first Moon rocks two days after the Apollo 11 splashdown while the astronauts began a three-week postflight quarantine.
However, more than half a century after the event, many people still doubt the authenticity of the first Moon landing.
Let’s debunk five of the most popular myths surrounding this topic. Dive into the bizarre world of conspiracy theories!
- 5 Myths
The Waving Flag; The Starless Sky; The Shadow Anomalies; The Lack of Impact Crater; The Belts of Dead.
For these 5 myths please go to the website Star Walks and read : Was the Moon Landing Fake ? Debunking 5 Common Myths.
Education:
This July, in a series of special events, NASA is marking the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 - the historic effort that sent the first U.S. astronauts into orbit around the Moon in 1968, and landed a dozen astronauts on the lunar surface between 1969 and 1972.
- NASA articles:
Invite your students to read the article and after have an open discussion about what they think.
Students can also explore NASA website articles: 55 Years Ago Apollo's One Small Step, One Giant Leap and 60 Years Ago: President Kennedy Proposes Moon Landing Goal in Speech to Congress to have an idea of the importance of this human event.
- Oher resources: Fly Me to the Moon (film)
However... talking about some myths and doubts, there is a recent film that could confuse us. A comedy-romance Fly Me to the Moon.
Starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, Fly Me to the Moon is a sharp, stylish comedy-drama set against the high-stakes backdrop of NASA’s historic Apollo 11 moon landing. Brought in to fix NASA’s public image, sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones (Johansson) wreaks havoc on launch director Cole Davis’s (Tatum) already difficult task.
When the White House deems d the countdown truly begin the mission too important to fail, Jones is directed to stage a fake moon landing as back-up ans…
How do you tell a fictional story about a fake moon landing with some real facts sprinkled in?
Well. when we are leaving the theater after Fly Me to the Moon we may have two questions: Was there really a PR maven hired to “sell” the moon to the American people? And did the U.S. government really stage a fake moonwalk in case the actual Apollo 11 mission didn’t go to plan?
Nifty casting and a playful approach to real-life events elevate this gentle romantic comedy, which entertains the audience with its intelligent dialog and strong-minded characters.
- Separating truth from fiction : What Gen Z-ers think? New York Times wrote yesterday :
"Gen Z-ers were more likely to be unsure if it happened. A recent TikTok filter asking users to rank things on a scale of one to 10 based on how much they believe in them, with one being more likely and 10 being less likely, inspired multiple videos with people placing the moon landing below things like God, magic and ghosts. But a few popular videos doesn’t mean Gen-Zers are flocking to moon landing conspiracies en masse, as the survey shows."
And what think your students about? Invite them to go to the theater or if you are yet at school, go with your class and after discuss the film and the real facts with them. It will be very interesting to hear them, don't you think?!
G-Souto
20.07.2024
Schools :Apollo 11 ! 55 Years After Landing on the Moon ! by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
Source: NASA
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