Press

NASA and Rice University in Houston will host multiple events in September to celebrate the 60th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s historic speech at Rice Stadium, rallying the nation to land astronauts on the Moon before the end of the decade and bring the crew safely back to Earth.

The agency will provide live coverage of the final event at noon EDT (11 a.m. CDT) on Monday, Sept. 12, commemorating the speech on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will be the keynote speaker, and the program will include other agency officials, dignitaries, and local and national elected officials.

Gates to the stadium will open to the public at 9 a.m. CDT Monday. The event will feature exhibits from NASA, Space Center Houston, Rice University, and space industry partners, who will commemorate Kennedy’s historic challenge and unprecedented commitment of resources that set a young space agency on the path to achieve the goal with the successful landing of Apollo 11 astronauts on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

Today, NASA is ready to launch the agency’s Artemis I test flight to the Moon, a major step forward in a new era of human deep space exploration. NASA is targeting no earlier than Monday, Aug. 29, for the launch of the Space Launch System rocket to send the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I flight test around the Moon and back to Earth.

Additional events and activities include:

Saturday, Sept. 10
10 a.m. CDT (11 a.m. EDT) – NASA pavilion and Industry and Research exhibits open to the public, free of charge.

6:30 p.m. CDT (7:30 p.m. EDT) -- Commemorative football game between the Rice University Owls and the McNeese State University Cowboys in Rice Stadium

Sunday, Sept. 11
10 a.m. CDT (11 a.m. EDT) – Community Day: NASA and industry exhibits open to the public

Monday, Sept. 12
11 a.m. CDT (Noon EDT) – As noted above, NASA will provide live coverage of the main event. Participants will include:
  • NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
  • Bob Cabana, NASA Associate Administrator
  • Vanessa Wyche, Director, NASA Johnson Space Center
  • Shannon Walker, NASA Astronaut
  • Reggie DesRoches, President, Rice University
  • Dr. David Alexander, Director, Rice Space Institute (master of ceremonies)
  • Jean-Loup Chrétien, ESA (European Space Agency) Astronaut, retired
  • Avalon Hogans, Houston's youth poet laureate

Rice University will provide details for media accreditation at its venue soon.

Jackie McGuinness / Cheryl Warner
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
jackie.mcguinness@nasa.gov / cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov

Kelly Humphries / Dylan Connell
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
kelly.o.humphries@nasa.gov / dylan.b.connell@nasa.gov

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