The Mars Project | Wernher Von Braun

This classic on space travel was first published in 1953, when interplanetary space flight was considered science fiction by most of those who considered it at all. Here the German-born scientist Wernher von Braun detailed what he believed were the problems and possibilities inherent in a projected expedition to Mars.
 
Today von Braun is recognized as the person most responsible for laying the groundwork for public acceptance of America's space program. When President Bush directed NASA in 1989 to prepare plans for an orbiting space station, lunar research bases, and human exploration of Mars, he was largely echoing what von Braun proposed in The Mars Project.

About the Author

Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun was a German-American aerospace engineer and space architect born on March 23, 1912, in Wirsitz, Germany (now Wyrzysk, Poland). He played a prominent role in rocketry and space exploration, first in Germany and later in the United States.

During World War II, von Braun led the development of the V-2 ballistic missile for Nazi Germany. As Germany's defeat became imminent, he surrendered to American forces in 1945, along with 500 of his top rocket scientists and test vehicles. After the war, von Braun was brought to the United States as part of Operation Paperclip. He worked for the U.S. Army on ballistic missile development and later became a key figure in NASA's space program. As director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, he was the chief architect of the Saturn V rocket that propelled Apollo spacecraft to the Moon.

Despite his contributions to space exploration, von Braun remains a controversial figure due to his involvement with the Nazi regime and the use of forced labor in the V-2 program.