Eli5: why was the US the first to make it to the moon despite the USSR being first in nearly everything else in the Space Race?

Question

Eli5: why was the US the first to make it to the moon despite the USSR being first in nearly everything else in the Space Race?

In: 14546

Answer 1

1. Death of Sergei Korolev
2. USA didnt pick a random goal, they picked the goal that they believed we had the best chance of winning.
3. Russia continued to divide their efforts on a variety of projects with conflicts among the different design bureaus whereas USA solely and jointly focused nearly exclusively on the Apollo Moon Landings.
4. Money and Resources. USA just had more of both.