Gambit to the Moon: Project Upward

Article

“Gambit to the Moon: Project Upward” by Philip Horzempa
Published in Quest Volume: 27 #3 (2020)

Abstract

The history of Project Upward, also known as the Lunar Mapping and Survey System, is an important but largely unknown part of the story of the Apollo program and NASA’s early Earth remote sensing programs. NASA began work with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) on Upward to use existing but classified recon-naissance satellite technology to help search for landing sites on the Moon for Apollo spacecraft. After this program was cancelled in 1967, NASA and NRO worked on using these technologies in the Apollo Applications Program, which later became Skylab, and on early remote sensing programs in low Earth orbit. Features numerous design sketches and images.

Citation

Horzempa, Philip. “Gambit to the Moon: Project Upward.” Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly 27, no. 3 (2020): 9-34.