premise: The space race was a competition between the Soviet Union and the United States to show off their technological superiority and economic power. It took place during the Cold War when there was a tense relationship between these nations. As the technology used in space exploration could also have military applications, both nations had many scientists and technicians involved. In 1957, the USSR launched the first artificial satellite into the Earths orbit, named Sputnik. The launch of this satellite was one of the first steps towards space exploration. The Americans were worried that the Soviets could use similar technology to launch nuclear warheads. This prompted urgency within the Americans, leading President Eisenhower to found NASA, and so began the space race. The Soviets took another step forward in April 1961 when they sent the first person into space, a cosmonaut named Yuri Gagarin. This prompted President John F. Kennedy to make the unexpected claim that the US would beat the Soviets to land a man on the moon and that they would do so before the end of the decade. This led to the foundation of Project Apollo, a programme designed to do this. In 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set off for the moon on the Apollo 11 space mission and became the first astronauts to walk on the moon. Neil Armstrong famously said one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. This lunar landing led the US to win the space race that started with Sputniks launch in 1957.
hypothesis: The United States began their attempts at space exploration when the Soviets launched Sputnik.