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The space race between the Americans and Soviets began at the end of the 1950s, against the backdrop of the Cold War. After a string of successful space flights by the USSR, America responded by forming NASA and launching the Mercury program. The goal was to catch up with the Russians and send a man into space. Mercury’s astronauts became the new American heroes, their wives appearing on the front of magazines.

America pulled out all the stops to fulfill Kennedy’s promise made in 1962 to put a man on the Moon before the end of the decade. After the Gemini program, which allowed NASA to make up ground on its rival, America embarked on the Apollo program. This began with the Apollo 1 tragedy, when three astronauts died during an exercise, and culminated with the triumph of Apollo 11. On 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon, as the whole world watched in wonder.