I am not completely sure if this is right or not but I think it would be <span>Safavid Empire</span>
It show that civilians had a understanding of astronomy
The correct answer is: 3 trillion dollars
USA was behind in Science and Math. So the federal government dumped massive amounts of money at the high school and college level. Americans so the Cold War heat up in Space. Very far behind.
The first space shuttle had enough capablities to go to Mars.
Mars was the orginal goal!
Moon became the target because USA moved it to so.
Watch Hidden Figures and October Sky for some inspiration.