Kennedy's wanted to go to the moon because he wanted to be the first man on the moon.

1. "Because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too." (paragraph 9)

2. "No nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space." (paragraph 4)

3. "Well, space is there, and we're going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked." (paragraph 19)