14 Race To The Moon

Race To The Moon written by John Lockyer

Kennedy Space Centre When scientists started to plan how to send people to the Moon, it became like a race. Everyone wanted to know who would be first to reach the Moon. People called it the Space Race.

Sputnik In the beginning, Russia was winning the race. It was the first to put a satellite in space. The satellite was called Sputnik. It looked like a shiny basketball, and it sent back radio messages as it flew around Earth. After that, Russia launched many other spacecraft. The first man and the first woman in space were from Russia. A Russian was the first person to walk in space.

spacecraft The United States was behind in the Space Race, but it was catching up fast. Astronauts were sent into space many times to learn all they could. They got useful new information each time. They worked out the best way to fly their spacecraft, and how to join up with others. Astronauts became better at spacewalking.

spacesuit There is no air in space, so astronauts need a spacesuit when they are outside the spacecraft. A backpack on the spacesuit holds oxygen for the astronaut to breathe. A spacesuit is hard and heavy to work in. It's like being inside a big metal balloon, but it keeps the astronaut safe from the heat and cold in space.

Saturn V rocket The United States was first to build a rocket that was powerful enough to send people up to the Moon and back. It was called Saturn V. Thirty-two Saturn rockets were built. The first rockets were tested without a crew. Then more were tested with crews. Other Saturn rockets were used to launch and test the spacecraft that would land on the Moon.