MOONSHOT Political Imagery about NASA Moon Landings

From Greek myths to Galileo’s discoveries, the moon has fascinated people for generations. Scientific advancement in the 1900s made the mysterious allure of outer space relevant to the here and now. 1955–1975 marked the period of time in the Cold War known as the Space Race.1 The United States and the Soviet Union competed for spaceflight achievement to show their political domination. The most enticing goal was to land on the moon.

The moon became a symbol for nationalism and scientific prowess during the Space Race. The possibility of landing on the moon spurred a range of media, from newspapers to propaganda posters. Messaging giants like NASA and The New York Times used the public’s fascination with moon to advance political agendas.

This exhibition first explores how the moon made its way to political materials in the 20th century. And later, the exhibition showscases political materials for 21st century moon missions.

1 Siddiqi, Asif A. Challenge to Apollo: the Soviet Union and the space race, 1945–1974. Vol. 1. US National Aeronautics & Space Administration, 2000.

also ref: Condell, Caitlin. “How Posters Are Made.” from Lupton, Ellen. How Posters Work. (New York: Cooper Hewitt, 2015) 24–27