Celebrating 50 Years of the "Moon Speech"

Tomorrow, May 25, is the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s speech to Congress calling on the nation to commit itself to the goal of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth by the end of the decade. The speech kicked off what became the Apollo program of six crews who landed on the Moon between 1969 and 1972. Several celebratory events are planned.

NASA is sponsoring a public concert at 7:00 pm EDT at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC that will feature NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, astronauts, and “special surprise guests.” Limited tickets are available on a first come, first served basis. NASA also has a brief “then and now” statement with a link to the video of JFK’s speech on its website.

NASA Chief Technologist Bobby Braun will give a public lecture at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab on “Investments in Our Future: Exploring Space Through Innovation and Technology” at 7:45 pm EDT.

The National Air and Space Museum is hosting a lecture at the museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport outside of Washington, DC that is open to members of the National Air and Space Society. It begins at 8:00 pm EDT. The event features Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan and George Washington University’s John Logsdon, an expert on JFK’s role in the space program. Logsdon’s new book, John F. Kennedy and the Race to the Moon, is available from Amazon.com.