July 9, 2009 at Ames Research Center’s N201 auditorium.

The Apollo moon missions are among history’s greatest technological achievements and greatest scientific explorations. But they were also a turning point in the evolution of the human species. For the 40th anniversary of the first lunar landing, Apollo 11, science journalist and space historian Andrew Chaikin, author of the new book Voices from the Moon: Apollo Astronauts Describe Their Lunar Experiences, will discuss Apollo’s significance, its impact on our culture, and how it changed our view of ourselves and our planet. He will also convey the otherworldly experiences of the astronauts themselves, and the impact that experience had on this handful of men who became the first humans to visit another world.

Tickets will be distributed through 7:25 PM at the Visitor Center by the Main Gate on Moffett Boulevard on a first-come, first-serve basis.

About the speaker

Award-winning science journalist and space historian Andrew Chaikin has authored books and articles about space exploration and astronomy for more than 25 years. Writer-director and explorer James Cameron (“Titanic,” “Aliens of the Deep”) called him “our best historian of the space age.”

He is best known as the author of “A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts,” widely regarded as the definitive account of the moon missions and was the main basis for Tom Hanks’ 12-part HBO miniseries, “From the Earth to the Moon,” which won the Emmy for best miniseries in 1998. Chaikin’s newest books, co-authored with Victoria Kohl, are “Voices from the Moon,” featuring excerpts from his conversations with Apollo astronauts, and “Mission Control, This is Apollo,” a book for middle-school readers illustrated with paintings by Apollo moonwalker Alan Bean. “A Passion for Mars” (2008) conveys the human side of Mars exploration.

Chaikin is a commentator for National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, and is a frequent guest on CNN. A graduate of Brown University, Chaikin served on the Viking missions to Mars at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and was a researcher at the Smithsonian’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies before becoming a science journalist in 1980.