Apollo Expeditions to the Moon: NASA’s Moon Landing Program

Discover the exciting backstage story of the NASA’s Apollo program and lunar landing with this volume of essays by the program's participants—engineers, administrators, and astronauts – describing the unprecedented challenges associated with putting men on the Moon. Written in direct, jargon-free language, this enthralling exploration story features nearly a hundred black-and-white illustrations as well as more than 160 dazzling color photographs. This comprehensive survey offers insights into the program's management challenges as well as its engineering feats.
No nation ever demonstrated its aspirations and abilities as dramatically as did the United States when it landed the first men on the Moon, or as much in public: More people on Earth watched that first small step on a foreign planet than had witnessed any prior event in the ascent of man.
In planning this photo history NASA set out to record the story of Apollo before the colors fade and memories blur. They decided that the breadth of Apollo would be shown best from the differing perspectives of the people directly concerned. Each chapter author was encouraged to recount his part of the story as he remembered it. Although they are necessarily personalized and slightly duplicative, they do offer the viewpoints of some of the people who made Apollo happen, and thus may provide fresh insights into that incredible project.
New scientific insights are an important part of the legacy of Apollo, as well as the worldwide lift to the human spirit that the achievement generated. But there is a third legacy of Apollo that is particularly germane today. This was the demonstration that great and difficult endeavors can be conducted successfully by a steadfast mobilization of national will and resources.
In looking back at the origins and development of the Apollo program, one word that comes to mind is action. Apollo was an outstanding example of how governmental agencies, industrial firms, and universities can work together to reach seemingly impossible goals.