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\nThe Moon captivate s our collective imagination\, serving as a calendar\, a mythic deity\, an artistic muse\, and a scientific frontier. Join us for a fascinating virt ual conversation with Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum curator Ma tthew Shindell as we delve into his book\, Lunar: A History of the Moon in Myths\, Maps\, and Matter.
\nPresident John F. Kennedy&rsquo\;s rou sing &ldquo\;We will go to the Moon&rdquo\; speech in 1961 before the US C ongress catalyzed the celebrated Apollo program\, spurring the US Geologic al Survey&rsquo\;s scientists to map the Moon. Over the next eleven years a team of twenty-two\, including a dozen illustrator-cartographers\, creat ed forty-four charts that helped set the course of space exploration.
\ nFor the first time\, each of those beautifully hand-drawn\, colorful c harts is presented together in one stunning book. In Lunar\, National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell&rsquo\;s expert commentary accom panies each chart\, along with the key geological characteristics and inte rpretations that were set out in the original Geologic Atlas of the Moon.& nbsp\;
\nInterwoven throughout the book are contributions from schol ars devoted to studying the multifaceted significance of the Moon to human kind around the world. Traveling from the Stone Age to the present day\, t hey explore a wide range of topics: the prehistoric lunar calendar\; the r ole of the Moon in creation myths of Ancient Egypt\, Greece\, and Rome\; t he role of the Moon in astrology\; the importance of the Moon in establish ing an Earth-centered solar system\; the association of the Moon with madn ess and the menstrual cycle\; how the Moon governs the tides\; and the use of the Moon in surrealist art.
\nRegister today for a thorough expl oration of the Moon&rsquo\;s role in popular culture\, science\, and myth!
\nAbout the Author: \;Matthew Shindell is a hi storian of science and technology whose work focuses on the exploration of the Earth\, Moon\, and planets and the research programs that made this e xploration possible. He is a Space History Curator at the Smithsonian&rsqu o\;s National Air and Space Museum\, and the co-host of the Museum's podca st\, AirSpace. \;
\nShindell holds a Ph.D. from the University o f California\, San Diego's History Department and Science Studies Program. He also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa's Wr iters' Workshop. He is the author of \;For the Love of Mars: A Human H istory of the Red Planet  (2023) and The Life and Science of H arold C. Urey (2019)\, coauthor of Spaceships (2023)\, Our Fut ure in Space (2023)\, and Discerning Experts (2019)\, ed itor of \;LUNAR: A History of the Moon in Myths\, Maps\, and Matter\, and co-editor of Smithsonian American Women  (2019).
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