The Plan to Send our Men to the Moon – Project Apollo

Inspiring hope after the tragedy of Apollo 1.

This visually engaging ‘See and Learn’ Chart highlights the complex steps needed to attain one of mankind’s most ambitious goals – landing a human on the moon. The Saturn rocket, Apollo command module, and lunar module are presented with illustrated panels. A diagram in the lower center outlines the multi-stage process of orbiting and rocket separation. Accompanying text, intended for a juvenile audience, describes the basic principles and terms.

The chart, signed Birmingham in the lower right, was published by Scholastic Magazines, Inc. in October 1967. In January of that year, astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger B. Chaffee tragically lost their lives during a launch test – later commemorated as Apollo 1. Crewed flights were suspended for twenty months and the poster was likely part of an effort to rebuild shaken public trust and inspire confidence in the future generations.