NASA historian to discuss 1969 moon landing at Miami Hamilton

April 9, 2009

Roger Launius, National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) curator and chief historian for the Smithsonian Institute, will visit Miami Hamilton April 17 to discuss the 1969 moon landing 40 years after U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin, Jr. safely landed on the moon’s surface as part of the historic Apollo 11 mission.

Launius will present "Walking on the Moon" at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 17, in Parrish Auditorium, recounting how Armstrong and Aldrin, Jr. became the first two humans to traverse the lunar surface in July 1969.

Launius is responsible for managing NASA’s historical reference collection of materials about the history of the agency, and providing historical services to NASA staff and the public. His publications include Exploring the Unknown: A Documentary History of the U.S. Civil Space Program, and NASA and the Exploration of Space.
He is currently vice president for publications of the American Astronautical Society and editor of its magazine "Space" Times.

Prior to joining NASA in 1990, Launius worked as a historian for the United States Air Force. His lecture, co-sponsored by the Mad Anthony Writer’s Conference, will be the final installment of the 2008-09 Michael J. Colligan History Project Lecture Series at Miami Hamilton.

Launius received his bachelor’s degree in history from Graceland College (Iowa), and both his master’s and doctorate degrees in history from Louisiana State University. He was born in Illinois and grew up in South Carolina.

“Theirs was a scientific and technological triumph, to be sure, but the Armstrong-Aldrin moon walks also took place against the backdrop of the social and political unrest of the 1960s. Set in that context, Apollo 11's mission emerges as even more remarkable and memorable,” said Michael Carrafiello, MUH assistant dean and director of the Colligan history project.

A reception and book signing will follow on the Parrish stage.