| The Space Age began in earnest in the late | | | | American program was tragically thrown into |
| 1950s, with America and the Soviet Union locked | | | | disarray in 1967, when Apollo 1 was destroyed by |
| in the Cold War. A space race began between the | | | | fire, killing the three astronauts on board. |
| two, it was a way of measuring each nation's | | | | However, in 1968, the Americans launched the |
| scientific and technological advances in the fast | | | | first manned craft into space, Apollo 7 orbited the |
| paced twentieth century. The Soviets struck first, | | | | earth one hundred and sixty three times and |
| when the Luna 1 completed the first lunar flyby in | | | | spent a total of eleven days in space. Apollo 8 |
| January 1959, they quickly followed this in | | | | was launched in December 1968, containing the |
| September of that year with the first impact on | | | | Saturn V rocket which was powerful enough to |
| the moon with the Luna 2. | | | | take the spacecraft into lunar orbit, it circled the |
| President John F. Kennedy threw down the | | | | moon and successfully returned to Earth. On 20 |
| gauntlet in 1961, declaring that America would | | | | July 1969, Apollo 11 successfully landed astronauts |
| place a man on the moon by the end of the | | | | Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon. |
| decade - the race was on! From 1961 to 1965 the | | | | Over the next four years NASA launched a |
| US Ranger program sent nine missions to the | | | | further six lunar missions, all of which were |
| moon with the purpose of gathering data. In 1966, | | | | successful with the exception of Apollo 13. In the |
| the Soviets beat the Americans by landing the | | | | course of the Apollo program, twelve astronauts |
| first craft on the moon, Luna 9, without it | | | | landed on the moon but since 1972, no lunar |
| crashing. The Americans achieved the same feat, | | | | missions have being launched. |
| three months later with their Surveyor 1. The | | | | |