Mr Duncan starts with a Stone Age astronomer who observed the phases of the moon, and marked them by carving notches on an eagle's bone.

ECONOMIST: Late for the date

The place had all the glamour of the space age then, with its glassy offices and swooping pavilions, moon rovers and rocket ships.

NEWYORKER: The Martian Chroniclers

The Second Era, which saw Soviet cosmonauts and U.S. astronauts almost routinely venturing into space, was punctuated in 1969 when Neil Armstrong (who, in a sad irony, just passed at the age of 82) and Dr. Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to land on the Moon.

FORBES: Launching the Next Era in Space Travel and Exploration