Final answer:
President Kennedy's goal in his September 1962 speech in Houston was to announce the United States' intention to land a man on the moon before the end of the decade.
Step-by-step explanation:
In his September 1962 speech in Houston, President Kennedy's goal was to announce the United States' intention to land a man on the moon before the end of the decade. The Soviet Union had previously launched the first human, Yuri Gagarin, into space, which sparked a space race between the two superpowers. Kennedy believed that achieving this goal would demonstrate American technological superiority and would be a significant achievement in the ongoing Cold War.