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Is the moon made of cheese? Of course not. But can a person walk on the surface? Not too long ago, we couldn\u2019t answer that question. But with the help of Gladys Perkins, we soon figured out that we could send a team to the moon and have them safely land on its surface. \n\nThere was a time when the United States was behind the Soviets in the space race. Everyone had their sights set on the moon. Andrew Chaikin describes NASA\u2019s disastrous Ranger missions. Erik Conway explains how complicated the trajectory calculations were\u2014and to top it all off, why they often couldn\u2019t be done in advance. To succeed, NASA\u2019s new Surveyor program would need the capability to adjust trajectory mid-flight. Gladys Perkins made those calculations possible. But her part in this story hasn\u2019t been well documented. Our editor Kim Huang recounts how difficult it was to get details of her story. And Vahe Peroomian explains how important it is to get these histories told to inspire the next generation to take on moonshot projects.