This story is part of a series commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.
Humanity had yet to set foot on the moon in 1968, but Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke were already envisioning commercial space liners and a lunar research base on the big screen. Like many sci-fi films, 2001: A Space Odyssey undershot the timeline a bit. It’s been nearly 48 years since human beings last left low-Earth orbit to visit the moon’s surface, but if you’ve sensed a resurgence in spacebound hopefulness, you’re not a lunatic. At the annual meeting of the National Space Council in March, Vice President Mike Pence directed NASA to return to the moon within the next five years, and the private space industry has accumulated more than $20 billion in investments since 2009.
Whether you’re old enough to remember watching Neil Armstrong make that first footprint in the lunar soil or learned about it in history class, there are almost certainly a number of stories you didn’t hear. With this being the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, dozens of new titles on the subject hit bookshelves this year, and we’ve sorted through the stacks to bring you the most stellar examples. These books reach back to that July day in 1969, yes, but many also explore the beginnings of space travel in our collective imagination and speculate on where the hell we’re heading next. Many dive into the lives of little-known characters who played pivotal roles in the space race, and all deliver a new layer of insight into the significance and implications of those first steps.
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Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin may take center stage in this beautiful graphic novel, but Fetter-Vorm takes an expansive approach to storytelling. The writer and illustrator, whose previous book Trinity chronicled the creation and testing of the first atomic bomb, regularly strays from the main narrative to explore the complex and diverse stories of the people who made the moon landing possible. He devotes chapters to lesser-known characters like NASA’s nearly all-female team of "computers"—a term that historically referenced not a machine but a type of job, as depicted in the film Hidden Figures—and dives into tangential subjects like geology, rocket propulsion, and humanity’s mythological regard for the moon. Whereas many books on the Apollo program seem uncomfortable invoking the ethically dubious realities of the space race, Fetter-Vorm dwells thoughtfully on these ambiguities, touching on critiques of the program, including antipoverty protests led by Ralph Abernathy at Cape Canaveral. In a glowing forward, Apollo 11 astronaut and self-professed comic book fan Michael Collins says Moonbound is the most enjoyable book he’s ever read on the historic mission.
Best for: Spaced-out comic book fans
A companion book to the recently released American Experience documentary on PBS of the same name, this historical look at the Apollo program begins and ends with Arthur C. Clarke. One of the most renowned science fiction writers of the 20th century, Clarke stumbled on a copy of The Conquest of Space, the first nonfiction book on the possibility of spaceflight. Decades later Clarke said Conquest changed his life, setting his imagination ablaze with notions of space travel and a wholly different version of humanity. Stone and Andres illustrate how outliers from Clarke to unsung figures like mathematician Poppy Northcutt, the first woman to work in mission control, inspired and made possible the first moon landing. The book expands on the documentary series with new archival information and firsthand accounts, including interviews with Bill Anders, the Apollo 8 astronaut who shot the iconic “Earthrise” photo. The result of a “lucky accident” that produced the first-ever color photo of Earth floating precariously in space, Anders’ image is credited with bringing about the concept of “spaceship Earth” and is printed in an eight-page photo insert.
Best for: History buffs
From Haynes, one of the foremost publishers of auto repair manuals, comes a new 212-page guide to the Apollo 11 mission’s hardware. This special edition goes well beyond the scope of the Apollo capsule with full schematics of the Saturn V rocket, a floor plan of mission control in Houston, and diagrams of ’60s era spacesuits—which had a very convenient shoulder pocket for astronauts’ sunglasses. Interviews and quotes from the archives reveal what it was like for Apollo crew members to eat, sleep, and poop in close quarters with their colleagues. Astronaut Wally Schirra, the commander of Apollo 7, after he emptied the toilet valve, delightedly called the ice crystals that sparkled out into the blackness of space “Constellation Urion.” Highly technical descriptions give a play-by-play of what it takes to land a lunar module and details on how nascent computer programmers developed the onboard software, which took up just 36 kilobytes of memory—roughly equivalent to the first Super Mario Bros. game.
Best for: Aspiring aerospace engineers
If you’re ready to have a rocket-fueled fire lit under your ass, Wiseman’s lighthearted cocktail of astronautic history and pop psychology might be the propellant you’re looking for. Rather than studying the oft glorified astronauts, he interviewed surviving members of the mission control crew. NASA selected young, reckless engineers right out of college for the moon mission because they “didn’t know that it couldn’t be done,” says former controller Jerry Bostick. Wiseman identifies eight principles he says controllers employed to accomplish the seemingly impossible. There’s nothing groundbreaking here—find your passion, develop smart goals, learn from failure—but coupled with space-themed puzzles and questionnaires, Wiseman nudges readers to take action toward their own moonshotty goals.
Best for: Starry-eyed self-helpers
Each of the thousands of tiny satellites hugging the Earth were made possible by our natural lunar satellite. Radio engineers in New Jersey used the moon’s surface as a reflective springboard for the first time in 1946, successfully pinging a radar signal off the surface and proving such signals could travel beyond the Earth’s ionosphere. With the later advent of space travel, it became possible to create a worldwide network of artificial satellites, a near-constant stream of Earth reflecting back on itself. Morton’s lyrical reflection on the moon and its significance to Earth and humanity is steeped in these small, easily overlooked details. A chapter on the Apollo program takes a critical look at the geopolitical climate of the day, while highlighting the homogenous demographics of the space program and shedding light on the unequal treatment of women and minorities who participated in the effort. Morton’s exploration of the future of moon travel, though, is where he really shines. Humanity in space, he says, will just be a reflection of humanity on Earth, and “an antagonistic world will create a Moon to match.” Returning to the moon seems almost inevitable with billions of dollars in investment behind it, but Morton still sees value in asking: should we?
Best for: Lunar-return skeptics
Imagine the Sea of Tranquility, where Neil Armstrong first one-small-stepped onto the lunar surface, as a tourist destination, “a mecca for rubbernecking, camera-toting visitors.” In David’s speculative look at the future of Earth’s oldest companion, there are many such thought experiments. What about city lights glinting from the ashen light of the moon’s dark side, a lunar village complete with homes already being blueprinted by Earth-based architects? There’s a whole lot of buzz about such possibilities, but David is the first to offer a cohesive vision of what scientists, industry, and the world’s space-faring governments have in mind. Among the latest plans: NASA’s proposed Gateway project, a permanent station that would orbit the moon, with an estimated cost of at least $10 billion; semi-autonomous robots crawling the surface; and mining outposts tasked with extracting valuable rare earth minerals. David is hopeful about diplomacy’s role in a near-future moon rush, suggesting that as world powers proceed, they “seize the opportunity to ascertain common objectives” for science, technology, and humanity.
Best for: Out-of-this-world travelers
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Photo Gallery: How the World Watched Apollo 11
Lunar Mysteries That Science Still Needs to Solve
Q&A: Photographer Dan Winters on His Apollo Obsession
