Landmark Independence Day Event Celebrates NASA and Apollo
Fifty years after man first set foot on the Moon, NASA’s Johnson Space Center was the featured guest at Houston’s signature Independence Day event, Freedom Over Texas. Celebrating many slices of Americana, the festival marked the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing and looked ahead to the new frontiers of space exploration, bringing the Space City experience to life for an estimated 50,000 attendees.
NASA’s presence wasn’t as large as, say, the Moon, but in addition to a 14-foot inflatable version of that alien world, the center brought some of its most awe-inspiring mock-ups and artifacts for display under a behemoth 30-foot by 120-foot tent. Some high-impact visuals included the Destination Station mobile exhibit, Space Exploration Vehicle rover, post-landing Orion recovery test article, Robonaut, an Extravehicular Mobility Unit spacesuit and many more. Starport supported with its own pop-up shop, selling space “merch” and keepsakes, and numerous volunteers shared NASA’s inspirational story with the public.
In advance of live music performances by Jake Owen and Kellie Pickler, as well as an astronomical fireworks show, Mayor Sylvester Turner presented Johnson Director Mark Geyer with a key to the city before he, too, toured the NASA exhibit.