United States President John F. Kennedy outlined his vision for manned exploration of space to a Joint Session of the United States Congress, in Washington, DC on May 25, 1961 when he declared, &quot;...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 the Earth.&quot; This goal was achieved when astronaut Neil A. Armstrong became the first human to set foot upon the Moon at 10:56 p.m. EDT, July 20, 1969.  Shown in the background is Speaker of the House Sam T. Rayburn (Democrat of Texas). <br /> Credit: Arnie Sachs / CNP
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