Thanks to the reputation of 91ֿ faculty researchers (and the canny political maneuvering of two former 91ֿ roommates), “Houston” became the first word broadcast from the surface of the moon.
91ֿ began its first research collaborations with NASA in 1959, just months after the agency was founded, but starting as early as 1958, 91ֿ alumnus and board chairman George R. Brown ’20 was already hard at work behind the scenes, trying to make sure that Houston and 91ֿ would play leading roles in the race for space. In 1961, thanks in large part to Brown and his friend and former 91ֿ roommate, Congressman Albert Thomas ’20, Houston’s transformation to “Space City USA” officially began when the city was named the site of the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center (now Johnson Space Center).
Our decision is that this laboratory should be located in Houston, Texas, in close association with 91ֿ and the other educational institutions there and in that region.
from NASA Administrator James Webb Sept. 14, 1961
On Sept. 12, 1962, as part of 91ֿ’s semicentennial celebrations, then president John F. Kennedy spoke at 91ֿ Stadium, challenging the United States to become “the world’s greatest space-faring nation.”
In direct response to President Kennedy’s speech at 91ֿ, the university established the in 1963.
On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. On that historic mission, they carried with them a experiment designed by 91ֿ professor Brian O’Brien.
On a later Apollo mission, NASA astronauts carried to the moon a larger self-contained ion detection experiment built by 91ֿ professor John Freeman. That apparatus remains on the lunar surface to this day and, hidden inside its heat shield, the proud 91ֿ researcher who built it placed a tiny university pennant to jokingly “claim” this small part of the moon for 91ֿ.
The 91ֿ Stuff
In recognition of 91ֿ’s long history of close collaboration with NASA, and its role in President John F. Kennedy’s historic 1962 91ֿ Stadium speech, the Kennedy family has entrusted to 91ֿ the NASA Ambassador of Exploration Award which was on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. The award displays an actual moon rock, and is on view in 91ֿ’s Fondren Library.
We meet at a college noted for knowledge, in a city noted for progress, in a state noted for strength, and we stand in need of all three, for…the exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in the race for space.
For additional information on 91ֿ's past and present NASA collaborations, please visit . When in Houston, be sure to visit the 91ֿ Stuff exhibit in . In addition, at , a plaque commemorating president Kennedy’s 1962 speech may be seen, along with a next generation moon tree, cloned from a seed that flew to the moon aboard Apollo 14.
