My possibly controversial take is that the original moon race would have been a lot more sustainable if the US hadn't attempted to land (at first). The Soviets could likely have built a rocket which also orbited the moon, based on Vostok / Soyuz. With both superpowers fairly evenly matched, the space race would have continued in earnest, rather than the US essentially winning and then sliding into complacency.

Moon landing is due to be on Starship to save costs, so that's not happening for many years.