. >> president kennedy here with missal expert van bron started a tour of u.s.ce centers. >> i read a letter from van bron that he wrote to kennedy when he said, how can we beat the russians? the letter said we can't beat them anywhere except be the first on the moon. that's what we committed to. >> may 25th, 1961 the president made a dramatic announcement before a joint session of congress. >> i believe this nation should commit itself to achieving s the goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. >> we didn't go to the moon to collect rocks. we went to the moon to stick the flag in the moon before the russians did. >> if we didn't have the cold war, would kennedy have had the same zeal? >> no. >> to have something that would show america's ability to respond to a challenged as well as tdo do it in a full, open and peaceful way i think really did catch the imagination of the american people c and of the politicians at the time. >> catch the imagination it did. >> we are underway. >> on february 20th, 1962,