Apollo in the Age of Aquarius / Neil M. Maher.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Maher, Neil M., 1964- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Project Apollo (U.S.).

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration--History--20th century.

United States.

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Astronautics--Social aspects--United States--History--20th century.

Astronautics.

Nineteen sixties.

Science and state.

History.

Public opinion.

Astronautics--Social aspects.

Outer space--Exploration--United States--Public opinion--History--20th century.

Outer space.

Science and state--United States--History--20th century.

Discoveries in geography--Public opinion.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

360 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2017.

Summary:

The summer of 1969 saw astronauts land on the moon for the first time and hippie hordes descend on Woodstock for a legendary music festival. For Neil M. Maher, the conjunction of these two era-defining events is not entirely coincidental. Apollo in the Age of Aquarius shows how the celestial aspirations of NASA's Apollo space program were tethered to terrestrial concerns, from the civil rights struggle and the antiwar movement to environmentalism, feminism, and the counterculture. With its lavishly funded mandate to send a man to the moon, Apollo became a litmus test in the Sixties culture wars. Many people believed it would reinvigorate a country that had lost its way, while for others it represented a colossal waste of resources needed to solve pressing problems at home. Yet Maher also discovers synergies between the space program and political movements of the era. Photographs of "Whole Earth" as a bright blue marble heightened environmental awareness, while NASA's space technology allowed scientists to track ecological changes globally. The space agency's exclusively male personnel sparked feminist debates about opportunities for women. Activists pressured NASA to apply its technical know-how to ending the Vietnam War and helping African Americans by reducing energy costs in urban housing projects. Particularly during the 1970s, as public interest in NASA waned, the two sides became dependent on one another for political support. Against a backdrop of Saturn V moonshots and Neil Armstrong's giant leap for mankind, Apollo in the Age of Aquarius brings the cultural politics of the space race back down to planet earth.-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction : Launching the Sixties

Spaceship Earth : civil rights and NASA's war on poverty

Shooting (from) the moon : NASA, nature, and the New Left during the Vietnam War era

Thinking globally, acting locally : Cape Canaveral and whole earth environmentalism

Heavenly bodies : "manned spaceflight" and the Women's Movement

The New Right's stuff : hippie counterculture and the rise of the conservative crescent

Conclusion : Grounding the Space Race.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674971998

067497199X

OCLC:

959649916