The aim was to bolster public support for his proposal to land a man on the Moon before the end of the decade and bring him safely back to Earth.

In his speech, Kennedy characterized space as a new frontier, invoking the pioneer spirit that dominated American folklore.

The perception increased when, on April 12, 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space before the U.S. could launch its first Project Mercury astronaut.

[4] Kennedy stood before Congress on May 25, 1961, and proposed that the US "should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.

Houston, Texas was chosen as the site for the new center, and the Humble Oil and Refining Company donated the land in 1961 through Rice University as an intermediary.

He was escorted by Mercury Seven astronauts Scott Carpenter and John Glenn, and shown models of the Gemini and Apollo spacecraft.

Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of pre-eminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war.

[12]The joke referring to the Rice–Texas football rivalry was handwritten by Kennedy into the speech text,[11] and is remembered by sports fans.

"[15] When addressing the crowd at Rice University, he equated the desire to explore space with the pioneering spirit that had dominated American folklore since the nation's foundation.

[19] Most prominently, the phrase "We choose to go to the Moon" in the Rice speech was repeated three times consecutively, followed by an explanation that climaxes in his declaration that the challenge of space is "one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.

"[12] Considering the line before he rhetorically asked the audience why they choose to compete in tasks that challenge them, Kennedy highlighted here the nature of the decision to go to space as being a choice, an option that the American people have elected to pursue.

Combined with Kennedy's overall usage of rhetorical devices in the Rice University speech, they were particularly apt as a declaration that began the American space race.

[22] He then condensed human history to show that within a very brief period of time space travel will be possible, informing the audience that their dream is achievable.

Lastly, he uses the first-personal plural "we" to represent all the people of the world that would allegedly explore space together, but also involves the crowd.

[25] Kennedy gave a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on September 20, 1963, in which he again proposed a joint expedition to the Moon.

[26] Khrushchev remained cautious about participating, and responded with a statement in October 1963 in which he declared that the Soviet Union had no plans to send cosmonauts to the Moon.

This accomplishment remains an enduring legacy of Kennedy's speech, but his deadline demanded a necessarily narrow focus, and there was no indication of what should be done next once it was achieved.