In 1999, an archived speech was discovered that had been written for US President Richard Nixon 30 years before in case a disaster on the Apollo 11 mission left the astronauts with no hope of recovery.

Thankfully, that speech never had to be given – but what if it had? What if some key component on the lunar lander had failed, stranding Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon, to slowly run out of oxygen as the world watched in horror?

It’s a question asked by author David Dyer in his new novel, This Kingdom of Dust, which provides a fictionalised look at just such a scenario.

In this Space Connect podcast, he talks to Jake Nelson about NASA’s concerns with the Apollo program, how the world might have reacted, and whether the enthusiasm for space travel so prevalent in the 1960s can be recaptured.