Rod Pyle, Ad Astra Editor-in-Chief
As I certainly need not tell you, this year marks a half-century since the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon, surely the most impressive and important peacetime accomplishment of the 20th century. This is something to celebrate, and media outlets across the country and around the world are creating Apollo 11 commemorative articles, books, television specials, and other content to mark the occasion (disclaimer: I will have three books on the subject out this year alone, one new and two in reprint). This reliving of history is good for the country and people everywhere who may be inspired to pursue scientific or technical careers.
It should be noted, however, that this is not just the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. The year 2018 marked the beginning of a five-year observance of the accomplishments of the Space Age, and America’s commitment to fulfill the goal put forth by President Kennedy in 1961 “to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to the Earth.” This mandate was completed via multiple flights by a variety of crews from 1968 through 1972, and we should remember and laud everyone involved: the primary and backup crews, NASA management, the agency’s labor force, and the nearly half-million men and women across the country that made the Apollo program such an incredible success.
This issue of “Ad Astra” is intended to do just that. While we have focused on Apollo 11 for its 50th anniversary, I have selected a variety of stories and images that look at the missions that preceded the first lunar landing, as well as the surrounding people and circumstances (such as the uncrewed Zond lunar flyby missions of the Soviet Union) that set the stage.
While Neil Armstrong was in fact the first human to set foot on the surface of the Moon, he and Buzz Aldrin, an NSS Governor, landed on the lunar surface at the same moment. They trained, flew, and succeeded together, supported by Mike Collins, the Command Module Pilot for their mission. Likewise, the crew of Apollo 11 was preceded by the crews of Apollo 1, killed in a launch pad fire in 1967; Apollo 7, the first to test the Command and Service Module; Apollo 8, the first to orbit the Moon; Apollo 9, the first crewed test of the Lunar Module; and Apollo 10, the first test of the Lunar Module (and its staging maneuver) in lunar orbit. These flights and their crews helped to assure mission success for Apollo 11.