We often remember Project Apollo as a feat of science and engineering, but from the very start, it was part of a broader geopolitical strategy to build alliances, win “hearts and minds,” and secure superpower status in the Cold War. This talk traces the politics of Project Apollo, from President John F. Kennedy’s call in 1961 to win the battle “between freedom and tyranny” with lunar exploration, to President Richard Nixon’s “Operation Moonglow” diplomatic tour of Southeast Asia in 1969.
Drawing on a rich array of untapped archives and firsthand interviews with Apollo astronauts, Operation Moonglow explores the intersection of spaceflight, geopolitics, propaganda, and diplomacy during the Cold War.
Join us Thursday, June 3 at 6:00 PM for this FREE, online presentation.
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About the Author
Teasel Muir-Harmony, PhD, Curator of the Apollo Collection, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Teasel Muir-Harmony is the curator of the Apollo Collection at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and teaches at Georgetown University. She earned a PhD from MIT and has held positions at the American Institute of Physics and the Adler Planetarium and Science Museum. She is the author of Apollo to the Moon: A History in 50 Objects and a contributor to the television series Apollo’s Moon Shot.
