To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist's History of Lunar Exploration [Paperback]

Don E. Wilhelms (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press (January 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816514437
• ISBN-13: 978-0816514434
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #968,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #83 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Astronomy & Space Science > Solar System

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Geologist's View of the Apollo Missions to the Moon, August 28, 2001

By 

John R. Keller (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist's History of Lunar Exploration (Paperback)

Don Wilhelms was a member of the Apollo Scientific Team and the US Geological Survey. In this book he describes his role, along with his geologist colleagues, during the Apollo explorations of the Moon. In addition, he presents a brief history of the theories associated with the origin of the moon and its craters, the people and problems involved in the section of the Apollo landing sites, a discussion of the geological results obtained from each of the Apollo landing sites, and finally a summary of the findings from the Apollo missions and the development of a theory to explain the formation of the moon.

The book opens with several chapters that describe the early telescopic observations of the moon and the competing theories explaining the moon origins. Specifically, there was the cold formation/capture theory and the hot formation/formed with Earth theory. After this thorough explanation of the development of these theories, the author covers the early robotic exploration of the moon conducted by the Ranger, Surveyor and Lunar Orbiter probes. From these missions, it was determined that the majority of the Moon's craters were probably created by meteoroid impact. Within these sections, the author also describes the landing site selection process.

Except for the concluding section and appendices, the remainder of the book (approximately 50%) covers in detail, the geological exploration conducted by the astronauts at each landing site and the results obtained. Since the early flights to the moon, Apollos 11, 12 and 14, were shorts stay, the book emphasizes the extensive geological exploration conducted by the Apollos 15, 16 and 17 missions. These missions included an electrically powered car, which greatly extended the areas of the moon that the astronauts could explore. These final missions were also supported in real time by a scientific support room staffed with many highly skilled geologists that helped to direct the astronauts during sample collection.

I found this book to be highly enjoyable and its covers an aspect of the Apollo program that is usually not covered in great detail. That is, the people behind the scenes who helped make this project the great success that it was. On the flip side, some readers may find the book a bit too technical, especially with all the geological terms and the small amount of the supporting diagrams and figures.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent summary of the science of Apollo by an insider, June 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist's History of Lunar Exploration (Paperback)

With the recently aired HBO series "From the Earth to the Moon", interest in the Apollo program has intensified. The series was inspired and based, in part on Andy Chaikin's excellent "A Man on the Moon". Don Wilhelms, a retired USGS planetary geologist, has written a complementary history of Apollo from the viewpoint of the scientist. He gives wonderful background to how our lunar ideas have evolved, and how Apollo cemented our view of the moon. He presents great sketches of the important characters such as Gene Shoemaker. He presents the science warts and all. His discussion of the science of the various missions nicely complements Chaikin's historical accounts. He is honest in his appraisal of the scientific talents of the various astronauts.

If you are interested in lunar science or Apollo, this book is an excellent choice.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Outstanding History of Efforts to Learn the Geology of the Moon, July 25, 2006

By 

Roger D. Launius "Historian" (Washington, D.C., United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist's History of Lunar Exploration (Paperback)

This lengthy and detailed account of lunar exploration and science strikes a balance between personal memoir and history. As history it provides a detailed and contextual account of lunar geology during the 1960s and 1970s, and a less detailed but informative account for the rest of the century. As memoir it provides an engaging story of the scientific exploration of the Moon as seen by one of the field's more important behind-the-scenes scientists who worked on Apollo.

This is certainly the most detailed personal account of lunar science during the Apollo program, and should be read in tandem with Donald A. Beattie's "Taking Science to the Moon: Lunar Experiments and the Apollo Program" (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001).