The First Men on the Moon: The Story of Apollo 11 (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration)

On 12 April 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit the Earth. One month later, President John F. Kennedy challenged the American nation to land a man on the Moon before the decade was out. On 16 July 1969, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin set off in Apollo 11 to attempt this audacious mission, and succeeded magnificently. This book tells the story of Apollo 11, starting with crew selection and training, the choice of the landing site, and the assembly of the space vehicle, then a detailed account of the mission, featuring the lunar landing and moonwalk, and a review of how our knowledge of the Moon's history was revolutionised as a result. The story is enlivened by dialogue between the astronauts in space and the flight controllers in Mission Control.

the First Men On The Moon Offers A Lively Definitive Account Of The Apollo 11 Mission Based On The In-flight Transcripts Post-flight Debriefing, With Illustrative Contextual Pictures, Especially Featuring Recent Scans Of The Original Hasselblad Film And Including Conversations Among The Crew In The Spacecraft That Were Not Transmitted. The Introductory Chapters Review The Motivation To Land On The Moon By The End Of The 1960s, The Development Of The Saturn V Rocket And The Apollo Spacecraft As The Means Of Doing So, The Selection Of Potential Landing Sites, The Precursor Missions, And The Backgrounds Of The Three Men Who Were To Fly Apollo 11. The Final Chapters Will Discuss What Was Learned Of The Moonrocks, And Review The Follow-on Missions. In Addition To Having Many ‘small’ In-line Black-and-white Illustrations With The Text Running Around Them, The Book Features The High-resolution Scans Recently Produced By Nasa From The Original Hasselblad Film, Reproduced In A Substantial Color Section. David Harland's Impressive Expertise In, And Considerable Experience Wriring About, The Moon Landings Shines Through And Seemlessly Unites The Myriad Details

from The Reviews Of Harland's Exploring The Moon:

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

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

The First Men on the Moon offers a lively definitive account of the Apollo 11 mission based on the in-flight transcripts post-flight debriefing, with illustrative contextual pictures, especially featuring recent scans of the original Hasselblad film and including conversations among the crew in the spacecraft that were not transmitted. The introductory chapters review the motivation to land on the Moon by the end of the 1960s, the development of the Saturn V rocket and the Apollo spacecraft as the means of doing so, the selection of potential landing sites, the precursor missions, and the backgrounds of the three men who were to fly Apollo 11. The final chapters will discuss what was learned of the moonrocks, and review the follow-on missions. In addition to having many ‘small’ in-line black-and-white illustrations with the text running around them, the book features the high-resolution scans recently produced by NASA from the original Hasselblad film, reproduced in a substantial color section. David Harland's impressive expertise in, and considerable experience wriring about, the Moon landings shines through and seemlessly unites the myriad details From the reviews of Harland's Exploring the Moon: "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 "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 book tells the story of Apollo 11 and dispels the myth that NASA faked the moon landings. The story is brought to life by exploiting the flight plan, mission report, in-flight transcripts (including conversations among the crew in the spacecraft that were not transmitted) and post-flight debriefing. It features scans recently produced by NASA of the original Hasselblad film. The final chapters discuss what was learned of the moon rocks, and reviews the follow-on missions. The authors impressive expertise and knowledge of the Moon landings shines through and seamlessly unites the myriad details of the mission. "In The First Men On The Moon, David Harland tells the story of Apollo 11, starting with crew selection and training, the choice of the landing site, and the assembly of the space vehicle. Then follows a detailed account of the mission, featuring the lunar landing and moonwalk, and a review of how our knowledge of the Moon's history was revolutionised as a result. The story is enlivened by dialogue between the astronauts in space and the flight controllers in Mission Control, and is richly illustrated with the pictures taken at the time."--Jacket Front Matter....Pages i-xvii The Apollo 11 crew....Pages 1-12 Preliminaries....Pages 13-28 Preparations....Pages 29-104 Setting off....Pages 105-143 Translunar coast....Pages 145-175 Into lunar orbit....Pages 177-207 Lunar landing....Pages 209-249 Tranquility Base....Pages 251-293 Home in triumph....Pages 295-348 The Moon revealed....Pages 349-360 Back Matter....Pages 361-378