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“Everything is theoretically impossible, until it is done” as quoted by scientist Robert A. Heinlein , Yes yet again science and technology proved its way out as Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon on July 20, 1969. As Apollo 11 landed Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin to the moon, Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on moon with Aldrin joining 19 minutes later. To mark this greatest achievement of the technological era the same date July 20 is celebrated as National Moon Day. In this article let us check the National Moon Day 2022 – History, Quotes, Facts and Celebration.
History of National Moon day – July 20, 2022
- In the late 1950 and early 1960s United States was engaged in cold war with the soviet union and in the year 1957 the soviet union launched Sputnik 1 the first artificial satellite. This success fired fears and imaginations among the people across different parts of the world
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and initiating Project Mercury, which aimed to launch a man into Earth orbit.
- On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space, and the first to orbit the Earth.
- On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space and he also received a congratulatory telephone call from Eisenhower’s successor, John F. Kennedy.
- On May 25, 1961, Kennedy addressed the United States Congress on Urgent National Needs and declared that before the decade ends the nation should commit itself on landing a man on the moon with safe return to the Earth.
- On July 20, 1969 Apollo 11 landed the first human on to the surface of the moon
- In 1971 the USA President Richard Nixon declared July 20 as Moon day to honour the anniversary of the first man landing on to the moon
- He wrote letters to the governors and members of Congress in all 50 states and urged them to officially start the observation of Moon Day.
- By 1975, 12 states had sponsored bills observing Moon Day.
- In 2019, President Donald Trump proclaimed July 20 as the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11 Lunar landing but till date, it has not been declared officially by anyone.
The 12 Men who Walked on the Moon
The following are the twelve men who walked on the surface of the moon.
- Neil Armstrong – Apollo 11
- Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin – Apollo 11
- Charles “Pete” Conrad – Apollo 12
- Alan Bean – Apollo 12
- Alan B. Shepard Jr.- Apollo 14
- Edgar D. Mitchell – Apollo 14
- David R. Scott – Apollo 15
- James B. Irwin – Apollo 15
- John W. Young – Apollo 10 (orbital), Apollo 16 (landing)
- Charles M. Duke – Apollo 16
- Eugene Cernan – Apollo 10 (orbital), Apollo 17 (landing)
- Harrison H. Schmitt – Apollo 17
Facts about the Moon
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Read below few facts about the moon.
- The Moon is Earth’s only permanent natural satellite
- The Moon is the second-densest satellite
- The Moon is a dusty ball of rock, measuring 3,476 km in diameter
- Moon takes 27.3 days to travel all the way around the Earth and complete its orbit.
- Moon doesn’t produce its own light, It reflects light from the Sun.
- Moon has gravity equal to one sixth of the Earth’s gravity.
- There are approximately more than 190 moons orbiting the planets and asteroids in our solar system, and Earth’s moon is the fifth largest among them.
- The Moon has a very thin atmosphere called an exosphere and it is not breathable.
- The Moon has no moons and no rings.
- During lunar eclipse the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon thus blocking the sunlight from falling on the Moon.
- Astronauts brought back 842 pounds of lunar rock, sand, and dust to Earth during their Apollo missions from the moon.
- Ancient Lunar crust is made up of the light-colored rock anorthosite, which when viewed from Earth is visible as the bright sections of the moon
- The Earth and Moon are tidally locked. Their rotations are in sync hence we only see one side of the Moon.
National Moon Day Quotes 2022
The following are few quotes for National Moon Day 2022.
- “I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine.” -Neil Armstrong
- “It is a beautiful and delightful sight to behold the body of the Moon.” -Galileo Galilei
- “Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand”-Neil Armstrong
- “Everyone is a Moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.” -Mark Twain
- “It’s a brilliant surface in that sunlight. The horizon seems quite close to you because the curvature is so much more pronounced than here on earth. It’s an interesting place to be. I recommend it.”-Neil Armstrong
- “Each of us is like a Moon that shows only a few facets to earth, but never its full sphere.”- Andre Aciman
- “It’s a brilliant surface in that sunlight. The horizon seems quite close to you because the curvature is so much more pronounced than here on earth. It’s an interesting place to be. I recommend it.” – Neil Armstrong
- “One truth I have discovered for sure: When you believe that all things are possible and you are willing to work hard to accomplish your goals, you can achieve the next ‘impossible’ dream. No dream is too high!”- Buzz Aldrin
- “I think we’re going to the moon because it’s in the nature of the human being to face challenges. It’s by the nature of his deep inner soul … we’re required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream.” – Neil Armstrong
- “I believe that every human has a finite amount of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine running around doing exercises.”-
- “The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.” -Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
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Ways to Celebrate National Moon Day 2022
The following are few ways to celebrate or observe the National Moon Day
- Check for astronomy clubs in your locality and pay a visit
- Plan to visit a planetarium. Watch the objects in the sky and learn more about it
- Watch documentaries of landing to the moon.
- Read books about the universe and its facts
- Educate the young minds at schools by including learning about universe in the lesson plan.
- Plan a school trip to nearby planetarium and let the students get curious about different facts of the universe
- Conduct STEM activities at school with exploring the universe as the theme thus providing a platform for students to think and explore more
- Arrange activity workshops for kindergarten students to introduce the concepts of phases of moon in creative manner.
- Conduct photography contest to capture best images of the moon
As he stepped on to moon’s surface Neil Armstrong quoted “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind, ” through which we can also try to understand that every small step taken by each individual in the field and science and technology will definitely make things easier and beneficial for the mankind in long run. Let us try to support young exploring minds and provide them platform in any possible manner as one spark can ignite many ideas and we do not know which innovation can help the mankind positively.
