Rice University celebrates 60th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's famous moon speech

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- "We choose to go to the moon." President John F. Kennedy said those powerful words in a historic speech at Rice Stadium 60 years ago, and on Monday, the university will wrap up a three-day event commemorating that anniversary.

Kennedy delivered the speech on Sept. 12, 1962 before a crowd of 40,000 at the football stadium.

"We choose to go to Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard," Kennedy famously said.

You can see a clip from the speech on the ABC13 YouTube page.

Some of the same guests and alumni will return to Rice's campus on Monday for the commemoration.

At 9 a.m., Rice Stadium gates open and the public is invited to check out free NASA exhibits.

Then at 11 a.m., it's the commemoration of Kennedy's speech at Rice Stadium, where NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will be keynote speaker.

All events end at 2 p.m.

Over the weekend, Rice's football team kicked off their season wearing NASA-themed uniforms that were also meant to symbolize the future of moon and space exploration with the Artemis mission.

The uniforms featured details including an excerpt of Kennedy's speech on the shoulder. Overall, the white base uniform and American flag patch were designed to reflect an astronaut's space uniform.

In a nod to the 60th anniversary and Kennedy, President Biden will share his vision of the "moonshot" in the cancer fight.

Biden will give a speech at John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston for the so-called "cancer moonshot" speech, an initiative that aims to cut cancer deaths in half over the next 25 years.

The efforts are aimed at "ending cancer as we know it," the administration said.

Like many Americans, cancer is personal to Biden. His son, Beau, died of brain cancer in 2015.

In 2022, the American Cancer Society estimates, 1.9 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed and 609,360 people will die of cancer diseases.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.