Aimed at enthusiasts and students of planetary sciences alike, this is a comprehensive overview of Man's relationship with his planet's nearest neighbor. This Commemorative Edition includes a foreword by one of the original astronauts and an extra section reviewing the prospect of renewed exploration there.

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 July 1969 and will commemorate the fortieth anniversary of that momentous event.

Computer enhanced graphics update the already successful first edition Timed to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing Recalls original transcripts and uniquely presents the lunar surface missions as travelogues Explains how the landing sites were selected, and what was discovered post-missions Includes a comprehensive glossary of geological terminology

Autorentext

Having followed spaceflight activities since 1968, David Shayler has a broad range of experience covering all aspects of human spaceflight history. In October 1982, he created Astro Info Service to focus on his space writing and research, with lectures and educational outreach activities. Early publications included the periodicals 'Orbiter' on the shuttle and 'Zenit' on Soviet activities, and a growing range of biographies on the world's space explorers. In 1990 David co-created the Midland Spaceflight Society and acted as its chairman. His first book was published in 1987 and since then he has authored over 20 titles, including 13 titles in the Praxis Space Library between 2000 and 2009. He has contributed to titles on human spaceflight, including the three editions of "Who's Who in Space" (MacMillan, 1998). Personal research has been conducted at NASA JSC in Houston, and at KSC in Florida, as well as at Rice and Clear Lake Universities and NARA archives in Texas. His research continues daily and new titles are under various stages of production, some of which are available via the AIS website. David Harland studied astronomy to degree level, and pursued a career lecturing in computer science, and academic and industrial research. In 1995, David "retired" to resume his interest in space and started to write. He has over two dozen books published to date, a majority of them with Springer/Praxis and several others under contract. These days he considers himself to be an amateur hermit and a professional space historian.

Inhalt
List of illustrations.- List of tables.- List of acronyms.- Foreword by Harrison Schmitt .- Author's Preface.- Acknowledgements.- The Apollo challenge.- The robots.- Magnificent desolation.- 'Pin-point' target.- Knowledge from the Moon.- The wonder of the unknown at Hadley-Apennine.- Surprise at Descartes-Cayley.- The beautiful valley of Taurus-Littrow.- Luna revival.- Apollo in context.- Spaceflight log.- Lunar landing sites.- Apollo missions, facts and figures.- Apollo lunar samples.- Chronological bibliography.- Index.