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The Dark Side Of The Moon 50 years ago the world watched as man first landed on the moon, an incredible accomplishment by the engineers and scientists of NASA. But what if some of those same engineers and scientists had a secret history that the U.S. government tried to hide? This week, the story of how the U.S. space program was made possible by former Nazis.
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The Dark Side Of The Moon

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The Dark Side Of The Moon

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The Dark Side Of The Moon

The Dark Side Of The Moon

Listen · 40:42
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/772742561/781607698" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
  • A 46-foot, 14-ton captured German V-2 rocket is launched during a test firing at White Sands Proving Ground, near Las Cruces, New Mexico, in May 1946. The long-range liquid-fuel rocket was developed by German engineer Wernher von Braun, who in September 1945 came to the U.S. as a technical advisor to the United States Army's missile program.
    A 46-foot, 14-ton captured German V-2 rocket is launched during a test firing at White Sands Proving Ground, near Las Cruces, New Mexico, in May 1946. The long-range liquid-fuel rocket was developed by German engineer Wernher von Braun, who in September 1945 came to the U.S. as a technical advisor to the United States Army's missile program.
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Wernher von Braun, technical director at the Army Rocket Center at Peenemünde, meets Nazi officers during a launch of the V-2 rocket, on June 20, 1944 in Germany.
    Wernher von Braun, technical director at the Army Rocket Center at Peenemünde, meets Nazi officers during a launch of the V-2 rocket, on June 20, 1944 in Germany.
    DPA/AFP via Getty Images
  • A group of German rocket scientists in 1946, including Wernher von Braun, Ludwig Roth and Arthur Rudolph, at Fort Bliss, Texas. Many had worked to develop the V-2 Rocket in Germany and came to the U.S. after World War II.
    A group of German rocket scientists in 1946, including Wernher von Braun, Ludwig Roth and Arthur Rudolph, at Fort Bliss, Texas. Many had worked to develop the V-2 Rocket in Germany and came to the U.S. after World War II.
    Donaldson Collection/Getty Images
  • President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson visit with Director of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Dr. Wernher von Braun.
    President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson visit with Director of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Dr. Wernher von Braun.
    JFK Library
  • Dr. Wernher von Braun with the Apollo 11 spacecraft In the background. von Braun was a major contributor to the mission by developing the Saturn V rocket that helped land mankind on the moon.
    Dr. Wernher von Braun with the Apollo 11 spacecraft In the background. von Braun was a major contributor to the mission by developing the Saturn V rocket that helped land mankind on the moon.
    NASA

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50 years ago the world watched as man first landed on the moon, an incredible accomplishment by the engineers and scientists of NASA. But what if some of those same engineers and scientists had a secret history that the U.S. government tried to hide? This week, the story of how the U.S. space program was made possible by former Nazis.

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