The Space Age Generation

Lives and Lessons from the Golden Age of Solar System Exploration

Edited by William Sheehan and Klaus R. Brasch

The University of Arizona Press

In 1957 Sputnik launched toward the stars. President Kennedy then announced that the United States would send men to the Moon and then return them to Earth.These pivotal moments sparked an unequaled bound forward in human innovation and scientific exploration.

At the heart of this momentous time were the men and women working behind the scenes. Scientists, historians, and astronomers share their memories and contributions from this unparalleled era in essays told in their own words. They are the remarkable generation who witnessed and contributed to some of space science’s most stunning achievements. Here they have recorded their memories—their childhood inspirations, their challenges, failures, and triumphs—for future generations.

A unique and authoritative record of a momentous period in human history, The Space Age Generation highlights the golden age of space exploration and the people who made it happen.

Contributors
Leo Aerts
Alexander Basilevsky
Klaus Brasch
Clark R. Chapman
Dale P. Cruikshank
William K. Hartmann
William Leatherbarrow
Baerbel Koesters Lucchitta
Yvonne Pendleton
Peter H. Schultz
William Sheehan
Paolo Tanga
Charles A. Wood

Reviews
Editor

A great book—words and memories from those who were youths at the beginning of the Space Age and later became some of its important pioneers. Tales from those who gave us our modern understanding of the Moon and the planets.’—Tim Hunter, author of The Sky at Night

‘Planetary sciences during the latter half of the twentieth century were remarkable and in some ways unique—a new field of study being born before our eyes. It was a time when our knowledge of the solar system underwent a revolution that will never occur again. This volume collects the personal memoirs of some of those who experienced that revolution.’—Guy Consolmagno, co-author of Turn Left at Orion: Hundreds of Night Sky Objects to See in a Home Telescope—and How to Find Them

William Sheehan is a retired psychiatrist, amateur astronomer, and astronomical historian who has written twenty books on astronomy. His most recent books are Discovering Mars (with Jim Bell) and Venus (with Sanjay Limaye).

Klaus Brasch is a retired academic and life-long amateur astronomer. He has published more than one hundred biomedical research papers as well as numerous popular science articles dealing with astronomy and astrobiology.

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