63 years after John F. Kennedy's 'we choose to go to the moon' speech, NASA's Artemis program plans to put humans back on the lunar surface

The United States would land astronauts on the moon by the end of the decade according to President John F. Kennedy.

He asked the crowd why they said the moon was the reason. Is this our goal? They may want to know why they climb the highest mountain. Thirty five years ago, fly the Atlantic. Rice plays Texas, why? We're going to the moon. We chose to go to the moon in this decade because they are hard.

In the 60 years since Kennedy's speech, space exploration has helped us understand the universe and its inhabitants.

NASA is about to return to the moon for the first time in half a century with the launch of the Artemis 1 mission on August 29.

NASA

'We choose to go to the moon'

Kennedy gave the famous speech at a time when the Soviet Union had put the first person in space.

Kennedy wanted to tell the nation why the Apollo program was so important. The world would be better off if the US leads the charge into space.

"For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we vow that we will not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace," he said. Space will not be filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.

Just seven years after Kennedy's speech at Rice University, NeilArmstrong stepped off the lunar module's ladder and onto the moon.

NASA

60 years of exploration

Apollo 17 was the final mission to land on the moon. Since then, there have been no boots on the moon.

Skylab was the first US outpost in space. NASA said that observations of the Sun were one of the main achievements. After six years in the air, it reentered the atmosphere and scattered debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia.

Between 1981 and July 2011, the space shuttle fleet flew 135 missions, taking more than 350 astronauts into space.

Humans have been on the International Space Station for a long time.

NASA

Going back to the moon

In order to return astronauts to the moon, NASA has spent 17 years and an estimated $50 billion on the Space Launch System.

At 23 stories, the Statue of Liberty is taller than the SLS rocket. The four car-sized engines and two rocket boosters will give it enough thrust to propel it all the way around the moon. The first SLS mission is called Artemis I.

As soon as August 29th, the SLS rocket will deliver the spaceship to circle the moon and come back to Earth.

NASA

If the spaceship successfully completes its mission, NASA will put astronauts in the module for another trip around the moon, and then land them on the lunar surface in 25 years.

Bill Nelson, NASA's administrator, said at a press conference on August 3 that the Artemis generation is now underway. This is a new generation of astronauts and we were in the Apollo generation. We're here, folks, we're gazing up at the moon, dreaming of the day we'll return to the moon. The journey starts with Artemis I.