On September 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy’s Moon Speech at Rice University was a historic moment in the history of humanity’s journey into space. Kennedy gave the speech to garner public support for the United States space program. The space race was a matter of national pride, and at the time, the US was behind the Soviet Union. The Soviets had already launched the Sputnik satellite and Yuri Gagarin had already become the first man in space.
the well crafted rhetoric ensures kennedy’s moon speech will last forever
Kennedy’s speech filled the stadium with drama and his ability to deliver that speech resonated across the country. Kennedy succeeded in connecting space with the notions of adventure and hard work, which form the bedrock of American Ruggedness.
The entire speech was 17 minutes long and there are notable sections, which capture the feeling and nature of the speech. Here are some of the passages that have stood the test of time:
We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people. For space science, like nuclear science and all technology, has no conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of pre-eminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war.
I do not say the we should or will go unprotected against the hostile misuse of space any more than we go unprotected against the hostile use of land or sea, but I do say that space can be explored and mastered without feeding the fires of war, without repeating the mistakes that man has made in extending his writ around this globe of ours.
We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.
interpreted by art and imagination
Over the decades, many people have remixed and remastered the famous speech. The video above is one artist’s interpretation, which condenses the powerful message into a few inspiring minutes. It is well worth a watch.
You can read the entire text of Kennedy’s Moon Speech here.
Lars is the Chief Editor of Starlight Works. He has no credentials in understanding space and the workings of the universe, but has a deep love of watching the universe at work.