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Apr. 13, 1969
April 13, 1969
Muskie proposes joint US-Soviet moon mission
President Muskie has announced a proposal for a joint US-Soviet manned mission to the moon. Muskie believes that cooperation on a moonshot project would break the stalemate between the two nations and could de-escalate the alarming buildup of nuclear weapons. The proposed timeline would be to get two men on the moon, one American, one Soviet, by 1972 or 1973. [1][2][3]
Critics suggest that Muskie’s plan shows the weakness of the United States in developing its own lunar exploration program. But given the freeze in spending on the moonshot project since 1967, NASA has made little progress in going to the moon on its own. Though the Soviets are making progress toward a moon landing (stoking fears that they might beat America to the punch), there have been many setbacks. Most notably, the explosion of an experimental N-1 rocket in February eased American concerns over the Soviet Union’s capabilities. However, the Soviets remain undaunted by the failure and are planning a second test launch in July. [4]