They were going to the moon, all right - at least that was the plan. That was the dream and the challenge set forth by one man, President John F. Kennedy, when he declared in May of 1961: "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth." —Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon, Catherine Thimmesh July 1969. It's a little over eight years since the flights of Gagarin and Shepard, followed quickly by President Kennedy's challenge to put a man on the moon before the decade is out. —“July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap for Mankind,” NASA Read the two passages. Describe what the different perspectives help you learn.