The celebrity and stardust of the Space Age fell mainly on the heroic astronauts who ventured to the moon. But what of the earthbound engineers who put them there, who designed the propulsion systems, gasket seals, and pre-computer controls for their craft? Those are the guys, with their crew cuts and tie clasps, being celebrated in Another Science Fiction: Advertising the Space Race 1957-1962 (Blast, $29.95). Compiled and with companion text by Megan Prelinger, these are the recruiting posters and ads from magazines like Aviation Week and Missiles and Rockets. Their intention was to attract America’s best and brightest to companies including Boeing, Bell, and Raytheon. Some of them employed house artists, like the amazing Willi K. Baum, whose paintings are sophisticated and abstract—nothing like the lurid sci-fi mags of that day. Instead of tailfinned kitsch or bosomy space vixens, science is the draw; orbits, planets, and constellations provide design motifs. There was heroism to be had with a slide ruler, although most of the jobs advertised were actually on the military side. But that grim atomic reality was left out of the hopeful posters. Tonight, Prelinger will discuss and show images from her book. If the EMP/SFM is looking for a new exhibit, I know just where to start. BRIAN MILLER

Mon., June 14, 7 p.m., 2010