The story begins with Wernher von Braun, one of the most influential rocket engineers of the 20th century. After World War II, he wrote a speculative book called The Mars Project. Inside it was an unexpected detail. 1. He described a leader of Mars named “Elon” Not a character. Not a last name. A title given to the person leading the colony. It was meant as fiction, not prediction. 2. The book outlined a full plan for reaching Mars Multi-stage rockets. Orbital assembly. Reusable boosters. Concep

As the director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Wernher von Braun led NASA'S development of the Saturn V rocket that took Apollo 11 to the Moon. His Nazi record was not widely known until after his death. | American Experience | PBS