The Russians had decided that they were ready to land a man on the moon. They had almost everything they needed. They had Kosmos, the lunar lander built under Mishin's direction. Since the Kosmos could only carry one cosmonaut, they built a lunar orbiter for the rest of the crew to stay in while Kosmos lands on the moon. They also had a space suit, Krechet, which the backpack life-support unit is hinged like a door, the arms and legs are flexible while the torso is a semi-rigid shell, the control panel located on the chest folds up so that it would be out of the way when not in use, and finally the boots are made of flexible leather. The one thing they didn't have was a rocket powerful and reliable enough to take them to the moon. The Russians had designed a multi-purpose rocket, N-1, earlier and decided to use it for the manned lunar program. Sadly, there were some technical problems with N-1. The Russians build ten N-1. In 1969 the first N-1 had an engine fire that caused it to shutdown and crashed. The second N-1 was launched but it shutdown seconds after lift-off and fell on to the launch pad and exploded. A total of four N-1 rockets were launched but they were all destroyed in test launches. The problem was in the 30-engine first stage and it ended the hopes for the Russians to land a man on the moon. When the Russians realized that they weren't going to be able to land a man on the moon before the Americans, they quickly changed their plan to be the first to collect rocks from the moon. By doing this, they sent Luna 15 into space but it crash-landed shortly after Armstrong landed on the moon. The Russians would have beaten the Americans if only Luna 15 didn't crash.

Due to the success with the Mercury missions and the Gemini missions, the United States had a better chance at landing men on the moon. Their spacesuits provided oxygen, temperature and humidity control, suit pressure, and power for their communications and data display systems. It was also designed for the astronauts to move easily on the moon so they could retrieve soil and rocks. Each astronaut's suit was specially designed for him. The Americans used a Saturn V rocket to launch the Apollo 11 crew to the moon. A total number of 32 Saturn V rockets were launched but not one failed! Saturn V was also the most powerful rocket ever launched. On July 20, 1969, a Saturn V rocket helped the Apollo 11 crew accomplish what they have dreamed of doing for years. Spacecraft commander Armstrong and astronaut Aldrin spent two hours on the moon. They set up observation equipment, and collected rocks and soil.