On September 12, 1962, President Kennedy announced his plans for the U.S. to go to the moon at Rice University in Houston. Less than seven years later, Houston was the first word spoken from the moon.

On July 20, 2009, America will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, when astronaut Neil Armstrong uttered the first word from the moon—Houston—when he said, "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."

Outer space has fascinated mankind for centuries, and space is often synonymous with Houston, home to Johnson Space Center and Mission Control. The space program has had a great impact on Houston, as seen in the various events below.

Space Center Houston*
Year-Round
www.spacecenter.org  

The official space museum in Houston is one of only a few places in the world where visitors can see a Saturn V rocket, an Apollo capsule that was actually flown (Apollo 17), see and touch rocks brought back from the moon by Apollo astronauts and sit in the gallery of Mission Control where the famous words of the Apollo 11 touchdown were first heard. In addition, Space Center Houston offers Level 9 tours, behind-the-scenes tours that let visitors glimpse into the lives of astronauts.

The Health Museum*: Facing Mars
May 30-September 2, 2009
www.thehealthmuseum.org  

Facing Mars is a U.S. premiere that features interactive stations that encourage visitors to "walk on Mars," test and launch rockets, "fly over" the Martian landscape and consider the implications humans face in their quest to reach the Red Planet. This innovative exhibit focuses on the real challenges of sending human explorers to Mars.

With more than 28 experiences, Facing Mars combines a range of hands-on experiences with compelling artifacts, such as a rare Mars meteorite from West Africa and stunning imagery to engage participants in the physical, psychological and scientific challenges involved in journeying to Mars.

Facing Mars addresses questions such as:

Visitors become a rocket scientist for the day and explore the challenges of aerodynamic stability. They experience what it is like to "walk on Mars" at a station that subtracts 60 percent of their weight to simulate Martian gravity. Visitors also explore some of the potential psychological and emotional stresses that astronauts may face on their journey, examining how contagious emotions can be and discovering where their own personal space threshold lies. The museum will also have an actual size model of the Mars Exploration Rover on loan from NASA on display throughout the summer.

Freedom Over Texas with Fireworks presented by Shell
July 4, 2009
www.freedomovertexas.org  

Fireworks will fly and tunes will fill the air at Houston's star-spangled Fourth of July celebration. This year's event, saluting Houston's military heroes and honoring the 40th anniversary of NASA's Apollo XI Lunar Landing, will feature the largest land-based fireworks show in the nation, unbeatable entertainment and a lively outdoor festival. Admission is free. Country music superstar Clay Walker will perform, followed by the largest land-based fireworks show in the nation, presented by Shell Oil Company and produced by the world-renowned fireworks artists from Pyro Spectaculars North by Souza.

NASA will provide on-site exhibits and will be featured in the musical bed of the fireworks music.  There will also be a special message from the space station

Discovery Green: Spacefest
July 17-20, 2009
www.discoverygreen.com  

Discovery Green downtown park has partnered with NASA and Rice University to celebrate this historic anniversary. A partial list of activities includes:

University of Houston-Clear Lake: Fly Me to the Moon: A Community Celebration of the First Lunar Landing
July 18, 2009
http://prtl.uhcl.edu/portal/page/portal/ALR/flyme/lunar_landing/event_info.html

Enjoy a 1696 family-style picnic, an outdoor viewing of the first lunar landing on a giant inflatable screen, star gazing with telescopes guided by astronomers, special NASA guests and speakers, space-related giveaways and more. Admission is free and open to the public.

Houston Astros
July 20, 2009
www.astros.com  

The Houston Astros will be wearing caps featuring the Apollo 11 mission patch, and they will be giving away replica caps with the same logo to the first 10,000 fans, courtesy of the United Space Alliance. The pregame ceremony will feature Houstonians who played an important role in the Apollo program.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston*: The Moon: "Houston, Tranquility Base Here. The Eagle has Landed."
September 27, 2009-January 10, 2010
www.mfah.org   

The Moon: "Houston, Tranquility Base Here. The Eagle has landed." is an exhibition that pays tribute to the achievements of the Apollo space missions, placing the unforgettable pictures of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in the context of age-old fascination with earth's closest neighbor. The exhibition provides an overview of 500 years of fascination with the ever-changing phases, yet ever-constant image, of the moon. Approximately 30 works of art will be on view, from an exquisite 15th-century Madonna whose virginity was likened to the immaculate surface of the moon, to romantic moonlit landscapes by Caspar David Friedrich, to groundbreaking treatises on the moon--including Galileo Galilei's Sidereus Nuncius of 1610—as well as 17th-century telescopes and other early scientific instruments, moon gloves and maps.

Houston Symphony: The Planets-An HD Odyssey
January 21, 23, 24, 2010 (Houston, Jones Hall); January 28, 2010 (New York, Carnegie Hall)
www.houstonsymphony.org  

In January 2010, the Houston Symphony is joining forces with NASA and celebrated producer/director Duncan Copp to present a powerful and spectacular new presentation of The Planets-An HD Odyssey merging NASA's latest exploration images with Gustav Holst's The Planets in a world premiere, Houston Symphony-commissioned event.

On a giant screen over the stage, the latest images from the Mars Rovers, Hubble Space Telescope and past probe missions Magellan, Voyager and Galileo will provide a stunning visual canvas of images, as the Houston Symphony and music director Hans Graf perform Holst's glorious musical score. Exciting, brief interviews with the greatest scientific experts on each of the planets will be integrated into the concert along with the images.

The montage of images will be compiled by producer Duncan Copp in partnership with NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratories and will be projected in the latest high-definition technology. Duncan Copp is best known as the producer of In the Shadow of the Moon, a 2006 documentary about the U.S. manned missions to the Moon, which was presented by Ron Howard and introduced at the Sundance Film Festival.

*CityPass attractions: Houston CityPass offers discounted VIP tickets to the city's top attractions, including the starred listings here. www.VisitHoustonTexas.com/CityPass