WILLIAMSPORT, PA –Lycoming College will host science writer and space historian Robert Zimmerman as part of the Fall Symposium: "SPACE: A Revolution in Perspective." Zimmerman will present his lecture, "The Quest for Interplanetary Travel: Manned Space Exploration Since Apollo," on Tuesday, September 30.

Robert Zimmerman's talk will describe the history of manned space exploration since the Apollo moon landings, showing how the participants in the space race have slowly traded places over time.  He will also tell the story of the far-sighted dreamers in both the U.S. and Russia, who, while struggling to assemble the first interplanetary spaceships, pretended for political reasons that these creations were "space stations," whose make-believe function was to orbit the earth and perform scientific research in space. 

Zimmerman, who has been published in numerous magazines, including Air & Space, Astronomy, and Invention & Technology, is also the author of three books, Genesis, the Story of Apollo 8, The Chronological Encyclopedia of Discoveries in Space, and Leaving Earth, which has just been published by Joseph Henry Press.

Robert Zimmerman received his B.A. (English Literature and Creative Writing, with a minor in Film) from Brooklyn College and his M.A. (History/Film) from New York University.

The symposium will be held in the Heim Building, Barclay Lecture Hall, (G-11) at 7:30 p.m.. It is free to the public.