The Soviet Union had enormous success with their space program, prompting America to develop their space program more. For example, the Soviet Union was the first country to put a satellite into space. This satellite was known as Sputnik.
As a response, the United States government gave a significant amount of funding to NASA. Despite their best efforts, NASA was continuously behind the Soviet Union and their advancements. This was true until President Kennedy made a goal to land a man on the moon before the end of the 1960's. This goal propelled the US ahead of the Soviet Union when the first man landed on the moon in 1969.