Shoot for the Moon

Sixty years ago this April, NASA broke ground near Clear Lake to construct a new command post for manned space exploration. Located 25 miles south of Houston on the Gulf Coast, the Manned Spacecraft Center’s most pressing mission was to accomplish President John Kennedy’s audacious goal to send a man to the moon and return him safely.

The project was part of the 1960s Space Race, a Cold War showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union. Along with demonstrating who had the mightiest rocket power and superior technology, it could also tip the balance of military power toward one country or the other. Space—and specifically the moon—was a major front in the simmering conflict between the two adversaries. Thanks to NASA, Texas was on the