GIVEN the number of “astronauts” who cross our cinema screens, it seems remarkable that up until now no one has thought to tackle the real-life spacemen who make Hollywood’s wildest imaginings seem tame. The Apollo moonwalkers came from nowhere, achieved fame on the most surreal trip imaginable, and then disappeared, often without trace. When I came to write my book Moondust five years ago, no one had done it in print, either: if I had £1 for everyone who’s asked me why not, I could buy a rocket and go myself.
Between the summer of 1969 and Christmas 1972, NASA’s…
