<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (January 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The intense efforts devoted in the 1960s to achieving first an unmanned and then ultimately a manned moon landing become easier to understand in the political context of its historical era . World War II had introduced many new and deadly innovations including blitzkrieg - style surprise attacks used in the invasion of Poland and in the attack on Pearl Harbor; the V - 2 rocket, a ballistic missile which killed thousands in attacks on London and Antwerp; and the atom bomb, which killed hundreds of thousands in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . In the 1950s, tensions mounted between the two ideologically opposed superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union that had emerged as victors in the conflict, particularly after the development by both countries of the hydrogen bomb . </P> <P> Willy Ley wrote in 1957 that a rocket to the Moon "could be built later this year if somebody can be found to sign some papers". On 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 as the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth and so initiated the Space Race . This unexpected event was a source of pride to the Soviets and shock to the U.S., who could now potentially be surprise attacked by nuclear - tipped Soviet rockets in under 30 minutes . Also, the steady beeping of the radio beacon aboard Sputnik 1 as it passed overhead every 96 minutes was widely viewed on both sides as effective propaganda to Third World countries demonstrating the technological superiority of the Soviet political system compared to that of the U.S. This perception was reinforced by a string of subsequent rapid - fire Soviet space achievements . In 1959, the R - 7 rocket was used to launch the first escape from Earth's gravity into a solar orbit, the first crash impact onto the surface of the Moon, and the first photography of the never - before - seen far side of the Moon . These were the Luna 1, Luna 2, and Luna 3 spacecraft . </P> <P> The U.S. response to these Soviet achievements was to greatly accelerate previously existing military space and missile projects and to create a civilian space agency, NASA . Military efforts were initiated to develop and produce mass quantities of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that would bridge the so - called missile gap and enable a policy of deterrence to nuclear war with the Soviets known as mutual assured destruction or MAD . These newly developed missiles were made available to civilians of NASA for various projects (which would have the added benefit of demonstrating the payload, guidance accuracy and reliabilities of U.S. ICBMs to the Soviets). </P>

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