Moon Machines

The story of the Saturn V rocket involves the vision of German rocket scientists with dedicated engineers from the U.S. in a roller coaster of technological challenges, producing a rocket with 7.5 million pounds of thrust.

The story of the engineers who built the Apollo command module is one of perseverance, determination and ingenuity. The results were a protected living space for the journey to the moon, an unprecedented feat of engineering.

Scientists grappled with navigation to the moon in a time when computer code and software had not been invented. It would require an infallible navigation system to cross the almost 500,000 miles to the moon and back.

With seemingly impossible weight restrictions, the lunar module was one of the greatest engineering challenges of the Apollo program. After many setbacks, the dedicated team created a module that would prove to work flawlessly.

The design of the first spacesuit was a formidable challenge, and two companies were hired by NASA to create and stitch together the most protective, flexible and expensive suit ever made.

A small group of engineers convinced NASA to build the first spacecraft on wheels and had an intense 18 months to design, build and test the lunar rover.