Sputnik shocked the United States and tipped the scale towards the Soviets (Wood 32). The race continued to be a close competition, with both countries creating their own projects, such as the Mercury Project, to expand into space. Until 1961, when President Kennedy set the goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade and pushed for higher space exploration efforts (Wood 52-52). Then, on July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, marking one of humanity’s greatest feats and ultimately ending the Space Race as interest in space reduced. The Space Race was far too expensive for the benefits the US gained from it. In total, the lunar project cost over $25 billion in American taxpayer money, which some critics argue was not utilized during the Space Race (“Space Race”). Although $25 billion is a lot of money, the money was well spent on new inventions that considerably improved lives and overall grew scientific knowledge and STEM sectors. Additionally, some believed that there was a potential danger that the military-space program could become a drag on the economy, therefore slowing progress in the civilian economy and hurting America’s status in world trade (Galton
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