We choose to go to the Moon
On the 12th of April 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. This event occurred before the United States could launch its first Project Mercury astronaut. American prestige suffered further damage five days later during the Bay of Pigs fiasco. Many Americans perceived that their nation was losing the Space Race with the Soviet Union. The Soviets had successfully launched Sputnik 1 almost four years earlier. President John F. Kennedy felt a political need for an achievement to demonstrate American superiority. He asked Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson to identify such an achievement. Johnson consulted officials from NASA and military leaders like Lieutenant General Bernard Schriever. They also spoke with business executives including Frank Stanton and Donald C. Cook. James E. Webb told them there was no chance of beating Russia to launching a space station. Webb believed landing a man on the Moon would be the best option despite high costs.
James E. Webb estimated the lunar landing program would require $22 billion by 1970. This figure represented the most expensive option available at the time. Johnson consulted Wernher von Braun alongside three business executives. George R. Brown came from Brown & Root while Frank Stanton worked for CBS. Donald C. Cook represented American Electric Power. Kennedy stood before Congress on the 25th of May 1961 to propose the goal. He stated the US should commit to landing a man on the Moon before the decade ended. An April 1961 Gallup Poll showed 58 percent of Americans opposed this proposal initially. The Apollo program required expanding NASA's Space Task Group into the Manned Spacecraft Center. Houston, Texas became the chosen site for this new center. Humble Oil and Refining Company donated land in 1961 through Rice University as an intermediary. Kennedy took a two-day visit to the facility in September 1962. He viewed models of Gemini and Apollo spacecraft during that trip.
A warm and sunny day marked the 12th of September 1962 when Kennedy delivered his speech. About 40,000 people gathered inside Rice Stadium to hear him speak. Many individuals in the crowd were students from Rice University. Scott Carpenter and John Glenn escorted Kennedy around the new facility. They showed him models of the Gemini and Apollo spacecraft. Kennedy also viewed Friendship 7, the Mercury spacecraft used by Glenn for America's first orbital flight. Initial drafts came from Ted Sorensen with changes added by Kennedy himself. A joke about the Rice-Texas football rivalry was handwritten directly into the text by Kennedy. Rice held an 18-17-1 edge over Texas from 1930 to 1966 at that time. Paul Burka recalled the speech years later as speaking to how Americans viewed the future then. Ron Sass and Robert Curl sat among the faculty present that afternoon. Curl expressed amazement at the cost of the space exploration program they discussed.
Kennedy characterized space as a beckoning frontier throughout his address. He invoked the pioneering spirit dominating American folklore since the nation's foundation. The phrase We choose to go to the Moon appeared three times consecutively near the end. This repetition climaxed in his declaration that the challenge was one they intended to win. He verbally condensed human history to fifty years within the speech. Only last week did we develop penicillin and television and nuclear power, he stated. Now if America's new spacecraft succeeds in reaching Venus, we will have literally reached the stars before midnight tonight. Most prominently, the phrase We choose to go to the Moon served as the rhetorical anchor. Kennedy highlighted the nature of the decision to go to space as being a choice. Free men must fully share whatever mankind must undertake, he told Congress earlier. These words emphasized freedom enjoyed by Americans to choose their destiny rather than having it chosen for them. He used first-personal plural we to represent all people exploring space together.
The speech did not stem a rising tide of disquiet about the Moon landing effort. Eisenhower declared To spend $40 billion to reach the Moon is just nuts. Senator Barry Goldwater argued the civilian space program pushed the more important military one aside. Senator William Proxmire feared scientists would be diverted away from military research into space exploration. A budget cut was only narrowly averted during these debates. Kennedy gave a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on the 20th of September 1963. He again proposed a joint expedition to the Moon that year. Khrushchev remained cautious about participating and responded with a statement in October 1963. The Soviet Union had no plans to send cosmonauts to the Moon according to his declaration. His military advisors persuaded him the offer was good since it enabled acquisition of American technology. Kennedy ordered reviews of the Apollo project in April, August and October 1963. The final report arrived the 29th of November 1963, a week after Kennedy's assassination. Many other things existed where money could have been spent instead.
His goal was fulfilled posthumously on the 20th of July 1969 through the Apollo 11 mission. The Apollo Project became a memorial to John F. Kennedy after his death. Although the idea of a joint Moon mission was abandoned, six more crewed missions followed. These ended with Apollo 17 in 1972. Subsequent planned Apollo missions were canceled by decision makers. The deadline demanded a necessarily narrow focus from NASA leadership. There was little indication of what should be done next once achieved. While Apollo did not usher in an era of lunar exploration, it sent six more crewed missions to the Moon. The Space Shuttle and International Space Station projects never captured public imagination like Apollo did. NASA struggled to realize its visions with inadequate resources throughout the following decades. Ambitious visions of space exploration were proposed by Presidents George H. W. Bush in 1989. George W. Bush proposed another program called Constellation in 2004. After cancellation of Constellation, the future of American space programs seemed uncertain again.
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Common questions
When did John F. Kennedy deliver his speech at Rice University?
John F. Kennedy delivered his speech on the 12th of September 1962 before an audience of about 40,000 people inside Rice Stadium.
What was the estimated cost of the lunar landing program proposed by James E. Webb in 1961?
James E. Webb estimated that the lunar landing program would require $22 billion by 1970 to complete the mission.
Who were the business executives consulted by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson regarding space achievements?
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson consulted Frank Stanton from CBS and Donald C. Cook from American Electric Power alongside Wernher von Braun.
Why did John F. Kennedy choose to go to the Moon according to his 1961 proposal to Congress?
John F. Kennedy chose to go to the Moon because he felt a political need for an achievement to demonstrate American superiority over the Soviet Union after Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space.
On what date was the Apollo 11 mission launched to fulfill John F. Kennedy's goal posthumously?
The Apollo 11 mission fulfilled John F. Kennedy's goal on the 20th of July 1969 when astronauts landed on the Moon.