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What describes the political goals of the space race

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The discussion reveals a president who felt landing men on the moon should be NASA's top priority and a NASA chief who did not.

When asked by Predsident Kennedy if he considered the moon landing to be NASA's top priority, Webb responded, "No sir, I do not. I think it is one of the top priority programs."

Kennedy then urges Webb to adjust his priorities because, "This is important for political reasons, international political reasons. This is, whether we like it or not, an intensive race."

NASA Fears Dangers of Moon Mission

The worlds of politics and science were suddenly at odds. Webb told Kennedy that NASA scientists still had grave doubts about the survivability of a moon landing. "We don't know anything about the surface of the moon," he states, going on to suggest that only through a careful, comprehensive and scientific approach to manned exploration could the U.S. gain "pre-eminence in space."

In 1962, NASA was still generally perceived as a military operation and all of the astronauts were active duty military personnel. To Commander in Chief Kennedy, himself a decorated World War II hero, the "survivability" of military missions undertaken by military personnel, was rarely the main go-no-go factor.

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