On This Day

By Princessa

In 1961, the formal announcement of hopes for an American lunar landing was made by President John F. Kennedy in his inaurual address: "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 the Earth. No single space program in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important in the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish." The challenge was taken up by NASA, the American space program began, and, in 1969, six years after Kennedy's death, the U.S succeeded in landing a man on the moon.