Have you ever heard of the "space race (太空竞赛)"? It sounds like a game, but it was not. The "space race" was a kind of competition between the United States and the Soviet Union（前苏联）. Both countries wanted to be the first to send people into space.
Both the Soviet Union and the United States sent rockets (火箭) into space in the 1950s, but not people. Then in 1961, a man called Yury Gagarin from the Soviet Union became the first man to travel in space.
People in the United States were upset. They'd hoped an American would be first in space. Soon President John F. Kennedy told the world that Americans would be the first to land on the moon. He said they would get there by 1970.
Landing on the moon was hardly possible at the time. But that "impossible dream" came true.
On 16th July 1969, a huge white rocket left the United States. It was carrying a spaceship called Apollo 11. In it were three US astronauts: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin.
Apollo 11 travelled quickly through space. On 20th July, it was near the moon. Armstrong and Aldrin moved slowly into the Eagle. That was their landing craft (登月舱). It would leave the command ship (指令舱) and land on the moon.
Collins stayed in the command ship. Armstrong and Aldrin watched the moon getting closer and closer. Finally, the Eagle landed. Armstrong used his radio to tell people on the earth, "The Eagle has landed. " He and Aldrin stepped out into (步入) a strange new world. They were walking on the moon!
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