PREFACE

to land men on the Moon before the end of the decade. On July 20, 1969, the commitment was met. American astronauts left the following message on the lunar sur-face: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind." The achievement belongs to all mankind. _ut those that made it possible deserve our special thanks. First, there are three especially brave men-- Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins, and Buzz Aldrin. They were backed up by thousands of men and women in NASA, in other government agencies, in industry and in uni-versities, and in the Congress. All of them were dedicated to the cause of Apollo, and they proved that with skill and the desire to succeed-- above all, wit