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Today in History: JFK Challenges America to Land a Man on the Moon
05/25/10
On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced the ambitious national goal of landing an American astronaut on the Moon before the end of the 1960s. “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth,” the president declared in his Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs.
Kennedy’s challenge grew out of his desire to “catch up and overtake” the Soviet Union in the development of space technologies. The Soviets had taken the lead in the so-called space race by launching the first manned spacecraft into orbit in April 1961. The United States achieved Kennedy’s goal on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong became the first person ever to set foot on the Moon.
Read JOHN F. KENNEDY’S MESSAGE TO THE CONGRESS ON URGENT NATIONAL NEEDS