It’s tempting to view the moon race as a straight line, but the 1962 propulsion...

https://front-wiki.win/index.php/The_Mars_Illusion:_Why_We_Keep_Getting_Travel_Time_Wrong

It’s tempting to view the moon race as a straight line, but the 1962 propulsion debate was a messy tug-of-war. Engineers fought over whether to trust nuclear, chemical, or electric engines, and nobody wanted to yield