This Date in 1961

On this date in 1961, President John Kennedy addressed Congress and challenged the nation to put a man on the Moon and return him safely to the Earth by the end of the decade. Kennedy was attempting to define the space competition with the Soviet Union in a way that the United States could win it. The decision was, therefore, essentially political in nature. Kennedy, initially, was not too interested in space-- Vice President Johnson was the space program's champion early on-- but the President became enthusiastic as Mercury and Gemini ramped up. Kennedy may have embraced manned spaceflight, but there are indications that the cost of meeting his goal may have led the President to propose the US and the USSR go to the Moon together. We can never know whether Kennedy would have done that, but we do know the challenge he laid down this date was picked up and met by the nation he once led.