Up to the early Sixties, the "Moon race" was a two contender race. A possible third contender briefly appeared in 1961.
In June of that year the British Interplanetary Society sponsored the European Symposium on Space Technology in London which proved to be the basis for the creation of two (yes, TWO!) European space agencies: ELDO (European Launcher Development Organization) and ESRO (European Space Research Organization) which would become ESA (European Space Agency) in 1975.
In the London symposium, a possible ten year European space program was detailed. It was to include vehicle development (later responsibility of ELDO) and mission development (responsibility of ESRO).
Vehicle Development:
1) A "Phase 1" launch vehicle, based on the UK "Blue Streak" IRBM
2) A "Phase 1A" launch vehicle, based on "Blue Streak" and using a liquid hydrogen-liquid oxygen upper stage
3) A "Phase 2" launch vehicle, to lift 9000 km in low Earth orbit
Mission Development:
1) Scientific Satellites for use with "Phase 1" and "Phase 1A" launch vehicles
2) Geosynchronous communication satellites
3) Manned capsule for suborbital flights using the "Phase 1" launch vehicle
4) A small lunar soft lander using the "Phase 1A" launch vehicle.
The "Phase 1" launch vehicle later become the Europa launcher, using a "Blue Streak" as its first stage, a French "Coralie" as the second stage and the German ASAT as the third stage. The development of Europa was canceled in 1973 after it failed in every one of its four orbital launches.
The "Phase 1A" cryogenic launcher, later renamed ELDO B, was never developed, although consideration was given to integrating a US Centaur stage on the Blue Streak. As such, the European lunar soft lander remained a proposal only.
In fact, the first successful European launcher (using a liquid hydrogen-liquid oxygen upper stage) was Ariane I, first launched in 1979, a European manned capsule has not yet being built (and there are no plans for such a mission) and the first European lunar probe was SMART-1, launched in 2003.
I can't help thinking what would have been of the Moon race if Europe had entered it!
Bibliography
British
Rocket and Satellite Launchers Internet site.
Gori, P.: Falsa Partenza con Europa, JP4, February 1989, pp.
70-75 (in Italian)
European 10-yr. Space Program Proposed, Aviation Week, July
3, 1961, pp. 30-31
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