What was the main goal of the space race

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy began a dramatic expansion of the U. S. space program and committed the nation to the ambitious goal of landing a man on the Moon by the end of the decade. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the satellite Sputnik, and the space race was on. For Americans, President Kennedy's declaration focused the Space Race on a clear goal: landing a man on the Moon before the Soviets. The Space Race became a race to the Moon. For years, the Soviets officially denied being in a race to the Moon.

The goal wasn't really to get into space, or land on the moon. The goal was to test nuclear weapons to attack each other.