Mind you, my research centered on the year 1961, when the decision to go to the Moon was reached after Gagarin's flight. If anything, the media whipped the American government into hysteria. From what I found, the American people didn't really care too much in the beginning. Most either accepted it, or merely waited for the U.S. to match the Soviets. It was mainly the media, who kept talking about world-wide prestige in the midst of the Cold War, that influenced the government. Which is why I saw it as more of a way of restoring prestige and gaining a political victory over communism rather than a scientific endeavor. Which is what the modern day media is now painfully excellent at doing. Thanks to them i'm currently earning next to nothing because of all the bull-rubbish they're telling people about the housing market over here!