Introduction
We always hear about life on the moon. Since the 20th Century, man has been seeking alternative planets that can support human habitation. Across the solar system, no other planet has been deemed viable for human habitation apart from the moon. The first people to land on the moon were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on board a space ship known as Apollo 11 ("NASA - The First Person on the Moon", 2019). Apollo 11 took off on 16th July 1969 and landed on the moon four days later with astronauts Armstrong, Buzz and Collins ("NASA - The First Person on the Moon", 2019). On July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to land on the moon accompanied by Buzz. Collins was left in orbit around the moon while Armstrong and Buzz walked around the moon for 3 hours ("NASA - The First Person on the Moon", 2019). During this time, the two were carrying out experiments while collecting moon dirt and rocks while Collins was left in space taking pictures from the moon orbit ("NASA - The First Person on the Moon", 2019).
From history books, we read that Armstrong and Buzz planted America’s flag on the moon surface. From an interview with the Business Insider, Neil Armstrong described the moon’s atmosphere as one with no snow, no unpredictable phenomena, no high winds, and with a pleasant gravity making it a viable place for human habitation ("A Young Neil Armstrong Recounts His Experience On The Moon", 2019). Also in history books, we read that the moon surface has a lower gravity as compared to earth. Photos of the two astronauts walking on the moon have been circulating since they returned to earth (Dell, 2019). They can be accessed on NASA’s website and many other internet sites as well as print media.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Sensory response
Sensory is an adjective that describes how one feels with their physical senses (Monteiro, Musten & Compson, 2018). There are five common senses in a human being. These are visions, smell, touch, taste, and smell. What we see with our eyes produces a certain sensory response in relation to how the image looks like in terms of color and shape. The walking on moon image is black and white. Black and white photos are associated with older-generation cameras which did not have the capacity to capture colored photos. In this regard, it is possible for me to associate the image on walking on the moon to a period in the 20th Century where it was rare to find a camera to take a colored photo.
The second response to the photo is the dress-code of the man in the photo. The man is heavily dressed in a veil covering his face. This gives a picture of an astronaut. As such, I can relate the image with what I gather from the history books on two astronauts who were the first to land on the moon. On the veil that covers the man’s face is a reflection of another man walking at a distance. This confirms the information on two men who were first to walk on the moon, i.e., Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
Other than the two men on the image, I see a bare surface. I know that the moon is not habited which I can associate with the bare surface found on the image. The man in the photo is seen holding items which appear like experiment instruments. I understand that the journey to the moon by Neil Armstrong was in an attempt by the then President of the United States John F. Kennedy and NASA to place man on the moon ("NASA - The First Person on the Moon", 2019). The astronauts were supposed to assess the moon atmosphere on its habitability by man. The man on the photo appears to be doing tests using the instruments that he is holding.
Perceptual Response
Perception helps us to experience the world. It is the sensory experience of the things that surround us, and it involves the recognition of the environmental stimuli and the actions that act as a response to the stimuli. Perception includes all the five common sense which are sight, touch, smell, taste, and sound. Perception is, therefore, a subjective, active and creative process that leads to assigning meaning to sensory information that enables us to understand ourselves and our environments (Monteiro, Musten & Compson, 2018). There are three steps in perception, i.e., selection, organization and interpretation of the information gathered by our senses. Selection is the first stage and involves choosing stimuli that attract our attention or stands out to our senses. Organizing involves structuring the unique stimuli into a coherent pattern within the brain and interpretation refers to the process of attaching meaning to the stimuli. Interpretation is the process of representing and understanding stimuli received by our senses.
On the photo walking on the moon, I see a man holding items that look like experimenting materials. I have learnt from history that Armstrong and Buzz were the first men to land on the moon where they carried out experiments on the habitability of the moon’s atmosphere. From this photo, the perception response is that the man is testing the moon’s atmosphere. I also see a reflection of another man walking at a distance. It is written in history books that two men, Armstrong and Buzz were the first to land on the moon. The perception response in this image is that the two people appearing in the photo are Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. The photo presents evidence that both Armstrong and Buzz actually landed on the moon as I see a bare ground on the background which I interpret as the surface of the moon.
Technical Response
Gestalt psychologists stated five principles that exist in the mind that allow it to perceive patterns in the stimuli. These are proximity, similarity, continuity, closure, and common fate (Monteiro, Musten & Compson, 2018). In the photo in relation to proximity and similarity, the men in the picture are dressed similar to astronauts, a reason why we perceive them to be astronauts Armstrong and Buzz. The images are all continuous and form complete figures, especially the reflection of the man. This creates an imaginary image of the two astronauts in the brain which leads to perceiving the two individuals as Armstrong and Buzz. The background in the photo depicts the bare moon surface, thus perceived to be the surface of the moon.
The photo quality is clear. It shows the image of two men on a bare surface. The men’s dressing resembles the dressing applied by astronauts and other spacemen. Associating this with the history books on man on the moon, I associate the photo with Armstrong and Buzz who are said to be the first astronauts on the moon. It is a visual representation of both astronauts said to have been the first to land on the moon.
Emotional Response
Emotional response refers to the reaction made by an individual after a stimulus. The stimuli could be in the form of colors or feelings. Colors are used to depict certain phenomena, for example in traffic; red is used to instruct the drivers to stop. This photo is in black and white which can be associated with the period when cameras could not capture colored images. In this regard, the picture relays an early achievement by Armstrong and Buzz. I also see an image of the American flag on one of the man’s shoulders, thus demonstrating the American pride. The mood of the photo is calm, which collaborates with Armstrong’s description of the moon’s atmosphere during the interview with Business Insider. The moon thus appears as a habitable area.
Ethical Response
NASA has been actively involved in defending their claims that through Apollo 11, America was able to place two men, i.e., Armstrong and Buzz on the moon (Dell, 2019) . This image is used as evidence of the two men walking in the moon. The two men on the photo are said to be Armstrong and Buzz. However, there exists no counter-evidence on how the surface of the moon looks like and thus cannot be disputed as not having been taken on the surface of the moon. The image can be presented for all audiences and has no evidence of digital alterations.
Conclusion
I have come to appreciate the fact that man has been able to land on the surface of the moon, a fact that is clearly confirmed by the photo. The efforts to take humanity to the moon are clearly evidenced by this image among others, and also the narrations given by Armstrong and his colleagues on Apollo 11 (Dell, 2019) . The findings provided by the trio can be used to guide further explorations to the moon. The two individuals appearing on the photo support information given by NASA that two men, i.e., Armstrong and Buzz actually landed on the moon. Also, the image portrays the claim that the moon atmosphere is calm ("A Young Neil Armstrong Recounts His Experience On The Moon", 2019).
References
A Young Neil Armstrong Recounts His Experience On The Moon. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/neil-armstrong-1970-bbc-interview-2012-8?IR=T
Dell, P. (2011). Man on the moon. Mankato, MN: Compass Point Books.
Monteiro, L., Musten, F., & Compson, J. (2018). PRACTITIONER'S GUIDE TO ETHICS AND MINDFULNESS BASED INTERVENTIONS. [S.l.]: SPRINGER.
NASA - The First Person on the Moon. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/first-person-on-moon.html
