Exploring the Moon: The Apollo Expeditions (Springer Praxis Books in Space Exploration) [Paperback]

David M. Harland (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1852330996 | ISBN-13: 978-1852330996 | Publication Date: May 14, 1999 | Edition: 1

If you have ever asked yourself What did the astronauts do on the lunar surface? What did they say while they were there? What did they photograph? How did their discoveries alter our understanding of lunar geology? Will we ever go back to the moon? If so, Exploring the Moon is the book for you. This unique insight into the three Apollo missions (15, 16 and 17) answers all these questions and much more. Using the actual transcripts of what the astronauts said to each other whilst carrying out their duties, and numerous photographs taken at each step of the exploration, this book provides a graphic illustration of what can arguably be described as Mankinds greatest feat of exploration.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews
"A detailed guide to what the astronauts did during their stays on the lunar surface. Walk(s) the reader through the prospecting excursions and then incorporate(s) decades of subsequent analysis to put the explorations of dust, rocks, craters, and rilles into geologic context."
SKY & TELESCOPE

FROM THE REVIEWS:

LUNAR & PLANETARY INFORMATION BULLETIN
"EXPLORING THE MOON is very well illustrated…All aficionados of the Apollo program will find much to appreciate in [this book].”

"…this is an interesting account of one of the most extraordinary decades in history…a very different book. David Harland probably knows more about the nuts and bolts of the Russian and American space programs than any other author and it shows.”

From the Back Cover

David Harland opens with a review of the robotic probes, namely the Rangers which returned television before crashing into the Moon, the Surveyors which 'soft landed' in order to investigate the nature of the surface, and the Lunar Orbiters which mapped prospective Apollo landing sites. He then outlines the historic landing by Apollo 11 in terms of what was discovered, and how over the next several missions the program was progressively geared up to enable the final three missions each to spend three days on comprehensive geological investigations. He concludes with a review of the robotic spacecraft that made remote-sensing observations of the Moon. Although aimed at the enthusiast, and can be read as an adventure in exploration, the book develops the scientific theme of lunar geology, and therefore will be of use as background reading for undergraduate students of planetary sciences. In addition, with the prospect of a resumption of human missions, it will help journalists understand what Apollo achieved after the 'flags and footprints' of the Apollo 11 landing in July1969 and will commemorate the fortieth anniversary of that momentous event. Highlighted as a "Commemorative Edition" on the cover, this second edition has a new foreword by one of the original astronauts and a short extra section at the end previewing the prospect of a renewal of human exploration of the Moon. It will include new extra high quality graphics which are only now available and 32 pages of colour illustrations.   From the reviews of the first edition - "A detailed guide to what the astronauts did during their stays on the lunar surface. Walk(s) the reader through the prospecting excursions and then incorporate(s) decades of subsequent analysis to put the explorations of dust, rocks, craters, and rilles into geologic context." SKY & TELESCOPE "EXPLORING THE MOON is very well illustrated…All aficionados of the Apollo program will find much to appreciate in [this book]. "…this is an interesting account of one of the most extraordinary decades in history…a very different book. David Harland probably knows more about the nuts and bolts of the Russian and American space programs than any other author and it shows.”LUNAR & PLANETARY INFORMATION BULLETIN --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 411 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (May 14, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852330996
• ISBN-13: 978-1852330996
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,502,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Highly Recommended!, July 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Exploring the Moon: The Apollo Expeditions (Springer Praxis Books in Space Exploration) (Paperback)

`Exploring The Moon - The Apollo Expeditions' is an account of the manned Apollo lunar landing missions and their unmanned precursors and successors. It focuses on the three so-called 'J-missions', the extended 3-day stays on the lunar surface which brought the program to a conclusion, and delivered the bulk of its scientific results.

Having previously read the detailed accounts of lunar surface activities contained in the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal -- a web resource that documents the mission transcripts with a commentary -- it was a delight to read Harland's travelogue-style approach. The extremely lucid narrative really succeeds at putting the astronauts activities into context, with lunar geology being the scientific theme. One feels at times as though one is standing just a few feet away from the moonwalkers as they cope with the pressures of trying to perform work in the limited time available, the frustrations of apparatus not working as planned, and the exhilaration of surprise discoveries.

Supplementing the text are numerous maps, photos and some excellent assembled panoramas mosaicked specifically for this book. Appendices list the missions, the crews, and the moonrock samples described in the text. A glossary of geological terms and a description of all of the lunar surface experiments will be helpful to the non-geologist, non-scientist reader alike.

One will not likely find a better book on the subject of planetary field geology. Perhaps this ought to be required reading for the people who will someday return to the Moon.

Astronomer Patrick Moore provides the Foreword, and Apollo 15 Commander David Scott the Afterword to this exceptional work. Even the learned Dr. Moore, who has studied the Moon for many years, admits that he's learned new things from this book.

Having studied the lunar surface activities of the Apollo astronauts for some years now, I must say that this book is a must-have for any serious

Apollo buff. I'm sure that I'll be referring to my dog-eared copy for many years to come.

If you want to know what people did on the Moon, and why they did those things, read this book. I very highly recommend it.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on a topic that hadn't really been covered, June 4, 2000

By 

Tyler Peterson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exploring the Moon: The Apollo Expeditions (Springer Praxis Books in Space Exploration) (Paperback)

Having written on the space shuttle and the Russian space station Mir, David Harland now ventures further back into the history of space exploration with this book. Exploring the Moon is a welcome addition to the plethora of books regarding the Apollo Program, providing an on-the-surface narrative and and scientific analysis of the missions reminiscient of the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal. After a section on the unmanned probes in the 1960's (Ranger, Lunar Orbiter, and Surveyor), he moves on to the Apollo flights, outlining the moonwalks on Apollo 11, 12, and 14, and then spends the bulk of the book outlining the Apollo "J" missions-Apollo 15, 16, and 17, which featured advanced life support systems in the lunar module and the astronauts' backpacks, an extended three days on the lunar surface, and a four-wheeled battery-powered buggy known as the Lunar Roving Vehicle. While most books focus on the technology that got America to the moon, few jave focused on the subsequent excursions of the spacesuit-clad astronauts on the lunar surface. This book does so magnificently, combining technical commentary with the words the astronauts spoke and the photographs they took. With the bonanza of lunar information provided by the last three Apollo missions, you will wonder why we felt inclined to cancel the Apollo missions 18, 19, and 20. Overall, I think this book covers lunar science and geology superbly, is a great adventure story, and a unique contribution to the studies of lunar science and planetary geology.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best descriptions of the moonwalks in print., June 4, 2000

By 

Rogera Sauterer (Pell City, AL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Exploring the Moon: The Apollo Expeditions (Springer Praxis Books in Space Exploration) (Paperback)

"Exploring the Moon" is a detailed review of the moon walks, especially (nearly 3/4 of the book) of the "J" missions of Apollo 15, 16, and 17. The book has detailed descriptions of the roving on the moon, the work done there and a fair amount about the geological discoveries. For those who spent hours glued to the TV watching these treks of discovery, this book takes you back and gives you new insights. The book also has hundreds of photos from the moon walks, although they are reproduced as tiny images. About the only criticism that I have is that the images are way too small and the book is available only in paperback. One hopes that a large format hardcover edition of this will be released, showing the photos in their full glory. For anybody interested in the actual moonwalks, this is the book to buy!