May 25, 1961 The 35th U.S. president John F. Kennedy delivered a stirring speech before a joint session of Congress. In it, he declared his intention to focus U.S. efforts on landing humans on the moon within a decade. His words ignited the work of a decade and ultimately achieved the dream of a moon landing, via the Apollo missions. Among other things, he said: 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 project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space. None will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.