NASA Johnson Space Center

The word Houston is spoken in the first sentence humans ever uttered from the Moon's surface, and the people who answered from the ground worked at the campus beside Clear Lake that we cover here. NASA Johnson Space Center is a working government site rather than a theme park, which changes how we approach it: we treat it as a piece of living history with a security fence around it.

Why the site is in Houston at all

In the early 1960s NASA chose the Houston area for its new Manned Spacecraft Center, helped by a donation of land from Rice University, deep-water access for moving large hardware, and the political weight of Texas in Washington. The centre was later renamed for Lyndon B. Johnson, the Texan president who had championed the space programme. Our trip to Rice University makes the connection tangible, because President Kennedy delivered his famous Moon speech in the university's stadium in 1962.

Mission Control, Apollo era

The best-known room on the campus is the Historic Mission Control Center in Building 30. Rows of consoles face a screen wall, and the room has been restored to look as it did during the Apollo missions, including the ashtrays and the muted colours of the period. Standing there during a guided visit, we found ourselves lowering our voices without being asked.

Flight directors sat at the back of the room and spoke to a team of controllers, each responsible for a single system. It is a useful reminder that the Moon landings were as much about paperwork and discipline as rockets.

The training halls astronauts still use

The campus is still where American astronauts train. The Space Vehicle Mockup Facility holds full-size replicas of station modules and spacecraft cabins, and tours can see them through viewing galleries. Elsewhere on the site there is a large indoor pool for spacewalk rehearsal, though that building belongs to the working programme and is rarely part of public tours.

Since training schedules shift, we treat the tram stops as a pleasant bonus rather than guaranteed highlights, and we never plan the entire day around a single building.

Apollo 11 and the first words

When Neil Armstrong radioed Tranquility Base, the reply came from a room in this complex, and the line has been tied to the city ever since. We like to stand in the viewing area for a few quiet minutes and picture the controllers holding their breath, before moving on to the next stop.

How visitors actually enter

Casual visitors do not drive up to the security gate. Entry is organised through Space Center Houston, the official visitor centre, whose tram carries you across the fence and back. Bring photo identification in case it is asked for, and leave anything that looks like a large bag in the car or at the lockers.

If you only have a single day for space history, this is our first choice in the region. For something gentler, the Houston Museum of Natural Science offers a planetarium and a major energy hall right in town.

Driving, rail and the airport

The campus lies roughly twenty-five miles south-east of downtown, and METRORail does not reach it, as our rail and transit guide explains. We rent a car or share a ride. William P. Hobby Airport is the nearer of the two main airports, a point to remember when you compare flights.

Making a full day of Clear Lake

The surrounding area is called the Bay Area locally, and it has its own character: marinas, seafood restaurants, and sailing boats on Clear Lake. After the tram tour we like to drive a few minutes to the Kemah Boardwalk for a meal facing the water. In summer the heat and humidity are strong enough that we keep outdoor walking to the early part of the day, and during hurricane season we keep an eye on the forecast.