What Did the Apollo 11 Astronauts Actually Do On The Moon?

What Did the Apollo 11 Astronauts Actually Do On The Moon?

The year is, 1969, rock n roll rules the world. America has seen an explosion of culture, ideas, music, and art. They also had the fair share of political turmoil, both home and abroad.

Another feature of the 1960s, was, of course, the Cold War. The greatest "will they wont they" in history. Which saw the United States of America emerge as the great success story of Free Market Capitalism and Democracy and to the east, the Soviet Union, representing the spread and might of Communist rule.

To put it mildly, both states were intent, obsessed even, to prove that their system was best, whether it be culturally, politically, or technologically. Naturally, this spread into military development, but also into exploration...

A very specific kind of exploration... Space. Famously coined "The Space Race" both sides invested heavily into their respective space programmes. Importantly, in 1961, Yuri Gagarin, of the Soviet Union became the first human to go into space. A big blow to the American Dream.

However, America would go one better, with John F Kennedy famously declaring by the end of the decade "We" will go to the moon. Which they did.

Reaching this uncharted territory, this new frontier, this sphere that had fascinated generations of scientists, artists, musicians, and poets for 1000s of years, on July 20th 1969.

Now most of us know this bit... But what did they actually do up there? More than stretch their legs, plant a flag and go home... right?

Well, strap in, as we will explore exactly that in this video!

- Canned History

#history #space #technology