A Bible on the Moon: The Untold Stories of Apollo Astronauts Who Tried, Failed, and Tried Again to Land a Bible on the Moon.

When NASA scientist and Chaplain John Stout accepted a position in the Apollo program at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, he said he would stay for one year - no more. All that changed on January 27, 1967, when Apollo 1 astronaut Ed White II died with his crewmates in a flash fire on the launch pad. Reverend Stout, a chaplain to many of the astronauts, had grown close to White and knew the young astronaut planned to carry a Bible to the moon. Stout vowed to stay on and see White's dream fulfilled. But undertaking a religious endeavor in the midst of a government-sponsored space program posed a dilemma for Stout and many of the astronauts.Among Stout's obstacles was a lawsuit launched by renowned atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair against NASA to prevent religious acts in space. It fell to Stout and his Apollo Prayer League to find a way.The result was an extraordinary drama that unfolded behind the scenes as America rushed headlong to the moon.