The significance of Kennedy’s speech on May 25, 1961, was initially overlooked in the USSR, which considered it rhetoric, not the mobilization of an entire nation, which it would in fact become. Until 1964, Soviet intentions were unclear. Khrushchev, well aware of the funding disparity, did not fully grasp the challenge. Kennedy, on the other hand, reluctantly accepted the lunar program, urged on by Vice President Johnson. And so he proposed a joint mission to Khrushchev (in Vienna in June 1961). But the Russians did not respond, worried about sharing secrets with the Americans and revealing their militarily unpreparedness. In 1963, the Americans repeated the offer. This time, the Russians responded with a more optimistic attitude. But three weeks later, Kennedy was assassinated, shortly after visiting the new space center in Houston. Johnson intended to invest alone in space and dropped the proposal. From documents analyzed only in 1991, it appears that the Soviet decision to land on the moon dates back to August 3, 1964 (secret government and party decision #655-268).
