The Apollo missions marked the first time human beings left Earth's orbit and visited another world. Launius surveys a wide range of viewpoints and narratives, both positive and negative, surrounding the program. These include the argument that Apollo epitomizes American technological-- and political-- progress; technological and scientific advances garnered from the program; critiques from both sides of the political spectrum about the program's...

"Space historian Roger D. Launius examines the thousands of years that humans have endeavored to understand the universe, including the pioneering work undertaken by the ancients of Greece, Rome, and China; the great astronomical discoveries of Renaissance thinkers such as Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler; and the technological and mechanical breakthroughs that have enabled the human race to explore far beyond our own planet in recent decades. He also...