When President Kennedy announced Project Apollo, the United States was locked in a global ideological conflict with the Soviet Union. But how did the idea of a Moon shot come to be the answer to a political problem? And why did it happen when it did? Dr. Roger Launius, former Chief Historian of NASA and currently the Principal at Launius Historical Services, explains why Apollo happened and where it came from. His latest book, Apollo's Legacy: Perspectives on the Moon Landings is available now. Hear additional episodes and learn more here: http://www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/space-missions/apollo-50-years.html

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When President Kennedy announced Project Apollo, the United States was locked in a global ideological conflict with the Soviet Union. But how did the idea of a Moon shot come to be the answer to a political problem? And why did it happen when it did? Dr. Roger Launius, former Chief Historian of NASA and currently the Principal at Launius Historical Services, explains why Apollo happened and where it came from. His latest book, Apollo's Legacy: Perspectives on the Moon Landings is available now. Hear additional episodes and learn more here: http://www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/space-missions/apollo-50-years.html<p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>

Explore the politics of why the United States decided to send humans to the Moon—and why the nation pulled back after landing only six times. Hosted by Casey Dreier, the Chief Advocate and Senior Space Policy Adviser at The Planetary Society, this special edition podcast features some of the world’s leading space policy experts and historians in interviews initially broadcast as part of the monthly show, Planetary Radio: Space Policy Edition. Together these interviews, along with new opening analyses, attempt to tell a fuller story about Project Apollo, beginning with the political pre-history of the space age, going into the cold war, and looking at the political opposition that ultimately ended the ability of the United States to land on the Moon.

Advertisement