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Management: Lessons from Apollo

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Return to the Moon

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Abstract

Apollo demonstrated that management constitutes the most A critical component of a human Return to the Moon and eventually of humans going on to Mars. An understandable tendency exists in government and the media to concentrate on advancement of technology; however, management and leadership of the creation, integration, and operation of that technology is demonstrably even more important. The history of terrestrial exploration and pioneering illustrates this truism equally well. The remarkably successful voyages of the British research ships the Challenger and Beagle, the Lewis and Clark expedition, Roald Amundsen’s trek to the South Pole, and Fridtjof Nansen’s North Polar Expedition — and even Ernest Shackelton’s failed attempt to cross Antarctica — document the critical importance of management: good planning, preparation, implementation, and leadership. The tragic consequences of the lack of planning and preparation are also recorded in Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition’s failure and death in Antarctica.

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(2006). Management: Lessons from Apollo. In: Return to the Moon. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-31064-9_9

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