Take, for a prime example, the pledge, in 1962, by John F Kennedy as President of the USA to put a man on the moon by the end of that decade.
It was a highly motivated issue to emphasise JFK's own progressive approach to government but foremost to keep the United States ahead of their Cold War nemesis the USSR in everything from military and political power, global trade and influence and in the new frontier of space.
In order to uphold the intentions to reach the moon, the big brains and technical expertise of scientists and engineers began to consider a means of achieving this.
There was little precedent to go on. The Space Programme of the US and USSR had put animals and humans into orbit but a greater level of science and technology would be required for an actual landing on the Moon and the safe return of the Astronauts.
Perhaps some thought was given to influences in literature and popular culture.
As early as 79 AD the Greek writer Lucian advocated a journey to the Moon on a sailing ship lifted by a waterspout. Other 17th and 18th Century Authors used the idea of a shadow bridge (Kepler), various flights in balloons (Edgar Allen Poe), a pair of light speed carrying rubber overshoes (Hans Christian Andersen), a cannon (Jules Verne) and from H.G Wells the premise of Anti-Gravity Paint.
Credit should go to the forward thinking Cyrano de Bergerac, by the French author Rostand who in 1657 envisaged a multi stage rocket for this purpose.
In the 1960's NASA's first considered option was entitled, quite succinctly, "The Direct Method".
This was based on the idea of a launch vehicle that would blast out of Earth's atmosphere and as a single unit land on the Moon, dispense a landing party, plant the flag, take samples and then return intact to the home planet.
The logistics of this were astounding. A suitable rocket, the Nova was proposed.
This would have to be gargantuan in size in order to accommodate the robust mechanics and fuel payload for a return journey.
Such a beast of a spacecraft was far beyond any capabilities in design and rocketry even with the secondment to the Space Programme of many of the principal characters responsible for the V2 missiles of the Nazi regime.
The second considered option was "Earth Orbital Rendezvous".
The concept was for two advanced Saturn rockets to go into orbit carrying parts of a spacecraft that would be assembled prior to making its way to the Moon. This still involved quite a sizeable vehicle and there were misgivings about its ability to land on the Lunar surface as a consequence.
Option 3 was "Lunar Orbit Rendezvous". Perhaps the most ambitious and hazardous idea this was based on the use of a single Saturn rocket which would carry to Moon orbit a two part spacecraft. This would then go into an approach pattern with a small personnel carrier leaving the main propulsion unit and descending to make a landing. On return and docking whilst hurtling around the Moon the small spacecraft would come back to the Earth.
Even though the "Lunar Orbit Rendezvous" became the model for the Apollo Space Programme culminating in the historic 1969 Moon Landing it was initially the least supported of the options.
In its method and technical basis it was seen as the most dangerous although those behind it were able to emphasise that it had benefits of being cheaper and quicker and therefore with a better chance of fulfilling the pledge of President Kennedy.
The rest is history.
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