AmbassadorsfromEarthremindsusthatourfirstmadscramblestoreachorbit,themoon,andtheplanetswerelitteredwithenoughhistrionicsandcliff-hangingturmoiltorivalthemostfar-outsci-fifilm.Butitallreallyhappened!Drawingonoriginalinterviewswithkeyplayersandbolsteredbypreviouslyunpublishedphotographs,journalexcerpts,andprimarysourcedocuments,JayGallentinedeliversaquirkyandunforgettablelookatthelivesandlegacyofthepeoplewhoconceived,built,andguidedourfirstunmannedspacecraftandplanetaryprobes.FromtheSputnikandExplorersatellitesofthelate1950s,tothethrillingVoyager“GrandTour“ofthe’70sand’80s,theyyieldedsomeofthemostcelebratedsuccessesandspectacularfailuresofthespaceage.Confessedoneparticipant,“Weweremakingitupaswewentalong.“Gallentinefearlesslyclamberstothebottomofasurprisinglybittercontroversyoverwhofirstdevelopedthetechniqueofusinggravitytosteeraspacecraft.AlsoofspecialnotearehiscandiddiscussionswithJamesVanAllen,thediscovereroftheringsofplanetaryradiationthatnowbearhisname.
