250 to 250: 84. Apollo 11, Narrated by Senator Mark Kelly

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Apollo 11, Narrated by Senator Mark Kelly

Mark Kelly has served his country as a U.S. Navy combat pilot, a NASA astronaut, and now as a U.S. Senator for Arizona. Kelly reflects on the improbable quest to send American astronauts to the moon. 

On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the Moon.

• Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon.
• The Moon landing was an important victory for the United States in the Space Race with the Soviet Union.
• In 1962, President John F. Kennedy challenged the United States to send people to the Moon.
• Kennedy said Americans should do difficult things because they are important.
• He said: We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they're easy, but because they are hard.

Seven years later, the United States achieved this goal.

• More than 600 million people around the world watched the Moon landing on television.
• The Apollo 11 lunar module was called Eagle.
• Armstrong famously said, “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”
• The Apollo 11 mission showed the importance of science, technology, teamwork, and exploration.
• The Moon landing became one of the most important achievements in American history.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 9:37. If the law requires it, are you willing to perform work of national importance under civilian direction (do non-military work that the U.S. Government says is important to the country)?
• USCIS 100:53. What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
• USCIS 128:118. Name one example of an American innovation.

Family Fun:

• Air and Space Museum: Apollo 11 | Artifacts | Learn (many resources)
• NASA: Apollo 11 | coloring pages
• NPS: America’s Space Program: Exploring a New Frontier lesson plan | President John F. Kennedy and the Moonshot: Inspiration and Achievement
• PBS American Experience: The Untold Story of the Space Race (1957-1963) | Full Documentary | How America Won the Space Race  | Chasing the Moon (stream or borrow the DVDs from your library)
• PBS Learning Media: The Road to Apollo: An Interactive Journey
• TED-ed: NASA’s first software engineer: Margaret Hamilton - Matt Porter & Margaret Hamilton
• US Mint: The U.S. Mint and NASA Celebrate Decades of Coins and Space
• VOA News: US Marks 50th Years Since Historic Apollo 11 Mission to Moon
• VOA Learning English: Apollo Astronauts Celebrate 50 Years Since First Moon Landing
• Vox: Apollo 11’s journey to the moon, annotated
• Washington Post: Here’s how Apollo 11 forever changed how we watch TV