In fairness, you have to take into consideration the technology and knowledge base each of them was working from. Some achievements are more impressive than others in that light, though I agree the moon landing stands tallest. We probably did the moon missions a good ten or twenty years earlier than our technology was really matured for. Very impressive effort on behalf of all involved.
If Spain have had to invent the ship and develop nautical navigation just to send Colombus on his merry way, maybe then it would have been a basis for comparison. I cannot think of another case in history where a nation (super power no less) has put its incredible weight and resources in order make an epic exploration expedition possible. This is far more than convincing the king to shell out some $$$ to buy a couple of stock ships.
The fruits of the Apollo program are still being reaped to this day. The technology that was developed for the sole purpose of giving the finger to the Soviets and with no immediate economical application at the time has transformed our lives and repaid the investment in rates that only narcotic drugs can compete with.
Not to mention dreams. There was no real need to put a man on the moon. Unlike the old world, the flag that waves there does not allow the US to claim the moon. A manned mission was a symbol, a realization of a dream shared by almost all human from all nations throughout the ages. Just check how many kids stories talk about climbing on a ladder to the moon, or reaching it by other imaginary ways. It was just hanging there, taunting humanity to try and reach higher. And then this dude and his buddy Buzz went up there and got to hop around on it like a bunch of 4 years old in a playground. If this dream suddenly became reality, what else is possible? I was born a couple years after the last Apollo flight, but still knowing that men made it up there and seeing the pictures is something that gets me excited to this day and part of the reason I do what I do. I and many around the world owe this dream to the USA.
The sad truth is that this dream is fading and its heroes are ageing and dying. I bought my son (4 years old) a toy space shuttle after failing to find an astronaut toy which was not the character from "Toy story". It is one of his favourite toys. With a heavy heart I recently had to explain to him that these will not fly any more. 30 years ago, when I was among the kids being asked, the answer "astronaut" was a very common answer to "what will you be when you grow up?". How many kids will give this answer today?
"To go where not man has gone before" has been replaced with "to make more money than anyone has made before". So uninspiring.
