Heiken G., Jones E. On the Moon - The Apollo Journals

Chichester: Springe, 2007. 503 p.On the Moon - The Apollo Journals describes both the challenges and the exhilaration that the Apollo astronauts experienced on the Moon. The pages provide a close up view of the harsh lunar landscape, which has a stark beauty all its own. The chapters also reveal the six teams' courageous, sometimes creative, and occasionally humorous adaptation to the field conditions on another planet. On the Moon is based on selected transcripts from Apollo crew communications both with Earth and between themselves while on the lunar surface. The astronauts' recorded commentary from the missions is interspersed with commentary about the landing sites and the work, including discussions about the importance of their specific tasks and how the results from their experiences changed the way we look at space exploration. Extracts from post-mission and more recent interviews conducted with the astronauts in the early 1990s highlight their thoughts not only during their missions but also after more than 25 years of reflection. Many people who are interested in space exploration are too young to remember much about the events that led to the Apollo Program and the global excitement that accompanied the missions. That first lunar landing transcended all political, economic, and social borders. For a brief moment, the world was united by a grandness of vision, the courage of the voyagers, and the wonder of their accomplishments. On the Moon is a call to memory for many, but it also tells a new generation about these events, how they affected our understanding of the universe, and the value of exploration to the human psyche.ForewordAdapting to a New World
Pinpoint Landing, Great Science, and a Lot of Fun
A Damned Hard Walk Followed by a Little Golf
The Lunar Dune Buggy
Drilling Troubles
The Descartes Highlands - High Land But No Volcanoes
The Volcanoes of Taurus-Littrow - Explosive Volcanism on the Moon
Boulder Rolling - the Last Apollo EVA
Lessons from Apollo for Future Operations on the Moon
Afterword - The Spirit of Exploration
Acronyms
Suggested Reading
Sources for Figures