A very interesting site "We Choose the Moon"
President Kennedy understood the need to restore America's confidence and had the vision of not only matching the Soviets, but surpassing them. On May 21, 1961, he took a strong stand in support of space exploration. Standing before Congress to deliver a special message on "urgent national needs," he asked for an additional $7 billion to $9 billion over the next five years for the space program, proclaiming that “this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.” President Kennedy settled upon this dramatic goal as a means of focusing and mobilizing our lagging space efforts.