A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts is a book by Andrew Chaikin.
The whole Apollo program/space race provided relief.
Jim Lovell said this in the Apollo 8 mission:
"To see the earth as it
truly is, small blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is
to see ourselves as riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright
loveliness in the eternal cold—brothers who know now they are truly brothers."
Andrew said this in his book.
This transcendent idea stood in stark
contrast to the previous events of 1968. the nation was becoming increasingly
divided over such issues as the escalation of the Vietnam War, racial tensions,
and the troubles of the inner cities.in a year that saw more than its share of
horrors, including the assassinations of martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy, Apollo 8 provided an uplifting end. one of the countless telegrams received by
the astronauts after their return said, “You saved 1968.”
With the moon landing of Apollo 11 people got a break, and a distraction, still even after 11 things started to slide back and people became divided over Vietnam and also started seeing the NASA program and military use of technology as connected. But in his book he admits:
"...apollo’s successes had briefly raised the national mood..."
The moon landing didn't end the war and problems of america, but the race to the moon gave a distraction.
