PROBING THE MOON

HOMER NEWELL AND LUNAR SCIENCE
After President Kennedy's 1961 speech and the first flights of Project Mercury, NASA embarked on several science programs to prepare for a moon landing. Under the direction of Homer Newell (1915-1983), Associate Administrator of the Office of Space Science and Applications, NASA sent Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter spacecraft to study the Moon between 1962 and 1968. These robotic vehicles provided scientists and engineers with a greater understanding of interplanetary space and lunar geography and played an important role in preparing for a manned landing.
Newell not only established the lunar science program and set the direction for space science at NASA, but he also spurred initiatives for communications, weather, and other scientific satellites.

Surveyor 3 spacecraft on lunar surface.

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-- -- TIMELINE -- --


Racing to Space
The Moon decision
To reach the moon
Apollo 11
Later Apollo missions
What we learned about the Moon
After the Apollo Program


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Created: 7/99