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Jun 27, 2019 Producer

How NASA Sold Us a Trip to the Moon

American Experience and Retro Report

This video was originally published by American Experience and Retro Report to accompany the PBS documentary, CHASING THE MOON. Produced by Joshua Fisher and edited by Cullen Golden and Kimberly Mayhorn.

Most remember the space race of the 1960s as a moment of rare national unity around the cause of scientific exploration. Public opinion polls from the 1960s show that the majority of Americans approved of Project Apollo, but the nation was deeply divided over the cost of the program. To win the space race, NASA would have to market the moon to the American public.

Today NASA is using new tools to communicate its mission to the public—and private companies are marketing their plans for space exploration.

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