Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings
- Downloads：9695
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-01 16:31:04
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Earl Swift
- ISBN：B08KQDGS2M
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Jim
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”But fact is， the greatest achievements of our lunar adventure came later， when the world was no longer hanging on every word the moon-walkers spoke or following every step they took， on missions that are recalled dimly today。 In fact， you could argue that every earlier American venture into space was preparation for the last three trips to the moon。”Great book about the creation and use of the lunar rover on the moon。 I was worried that the book might be too technical after reading some of the ”But fact is， the greatest achievements of our lunar adventure came later， when the world was no longer hanging on every word the moon-walkers spoke or following every step they took， on missions that are recalled dimly today。 In fact， you could argue that every earlier American venture into space was preparation for the last three trips to the moon。”Great book about the creation and use of the lunar rover on the moon。 I was worried that the book might be too technical after reading some of the reviews， but while it is definitely a deep dive into the engineering side of the space program， it was also very accessible and very well-told。Swift does a great job of setting up all the difficulties of trying to engineer a space car （1/5th gravity， unknown soil composition， driving inside a space suit， extreme temperatures） and then puts you along side the engineers as they work everything out。There is a lot of great space program history here as well， told from a different angle than you usually see it。 In The Right Stuff you get the history of the space program told through pilots and personalities。 Here you get the history of the program told through supply chains and government contracts。 And it was just as fascinating to me。Some notes:- We talk now about how nobody cares about the moon anymore。 And it’s true， but it’s not a new problem。 Almost as soon as the Apollo 11 astronauts left the moon the Apollo missions became blasé。 Funding started to dry up before the first rovers could even be built。 Space cars that should have been given their own flights to the moon on their own special rocket ended up having to be designed in a way that they could be folded up under the leg of the lunar module。 It ended up being a little go-kart instead of a car， but that made it’s accomplishments even more amazing once they actually got to the moon。- The Apollo missions were all geology missions first and foremost， but that only took place because they had to pick one field of science to focus the time and resources on and geology won out。 But there were many who thought the missions should have been used to study the earth itself from a different viewpoint。 Instead of sending geologists （and training pilots to be geologists） we would have sent astronomers and physicists。- Buzz Aldrin and Neal Armstrong almost ended the rover project before it really even got a chance to start。 They came back from Apollo 11 and said it wouldn't work。 All the engineers and experts in terramechanics who had spent decades on the idea thought it definitely would work， but in late 1969 there were only two real moon experts。 And they had a lot of clout。- First part of this book has a great mini-biography of Wernher von Braun。 。。。more
Julie
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Just when man landing on the moon was getting redundant， NASA introduced the Lunar Rover。 It was the Rover that made exploration and science possible， but getting it there wasn’t easy。 The first third of the book looks at the evolution of designing a lunar vehicle before it was ever a tangible prospect。 We’re introduced to all the engineers that dreamed of how a vehicle would operate on the moon’s surface。 The second part of the book details the actual development of the winning concept in a ver Just when man landing on the moon was getting redundant， NASA introduced the Lunar Rover。 It was the Rover that made exploration and science possible， but getting it there wasn’t easy。 The first third of the book looks at the evolution of designing a lunar vehicle before it was ever a tangible prospect。 We’re introduced to all the engineers that dreamed of how a vehicle would operate on the moon’s surface。 The second part of the book details the actual development of the winning concept in a very short amount of time。 The deadline NASA set to get the Rover on Apollo 15 was one of the tightest they ever set for themselves （and Boeng， the contractor and GM the subcontractor）。 “In retrospect， the frenzied nature of the rover’s creation， and the hassles that NASA and its partners ran up against during those hectic months， serve only to underline the remarkable nature of the achievement。”We see the Rover in action in the final third and how the astronauts performed on it。 Without it， they would never have gotten such a huge variety of samples to bring back to Earth。 I would have liked to see a segment detailing some of the discoveries made from the samples obtained， but I guess that would take another book。 This last section of exploration was certainly the most fun and fascinating。To build such a complex machine involves lots of mechanical design， and I’m certainly no engineer， but I can appreciate the efforts of the men who achieved it。 “Including the price of development， each of those fifty-six miles，” driven on the moon by three Rovers， “cost something in the neighborhood of $680，000， or well over $4 million in today’s money。” Now I understand why the final three Apollo missions were so significant。I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher。 。。。more
LeeAnn
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I was instantly drawn in by Swift's beginning at The US Space & Rocket Center。 One of my favorite places to visit is the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson， KS: a museum not unlike the one Swift visits at the start of this book。This book reads like a nostalgic travelogue。 Each chapter is a new stop along a journey that leads to the moon and back again。 （Swift's style， in fact， reminds me of Tolkien。 Aren't we all on a journey？）Part of why I am so glad I got to read this ARC is my daughter's love of space I was instantly drawn in by Swift's beginning at The US Space & Rocket Center。 One of my favorite places to visit is the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson， KS: a museum not unlike the one Swift visits at the start of this book。This book reads like a nostalgic travelogue。 Each chapter is a new stop along a journey that leads to the moon and back again。 （Swift's style， in fact， reminds me of Tolkien。 Aren't we all on a journey？）Part of why I am so glad I got to read this ARC is my daughter's love of space。 Though she is now 20， and a dancer/choreographer， her dreams of space - the moon and Mars - permeates her sense of adventure in every step of her journey。 Oh that all of us should be so enamored of the adventure！Did you watch the Pixar movie Up？ This book gives me the same feeling！ "Adventure is out there！"This book is set to debut in July。 Though the ending sections are full of future promise ground down by the devastation of 2020-2021， I believe that with hope， the future dreams and adventures of the US Space Program will continue。 For all who have grown up in the shadow of the moon， this book is for you。 。。。more
Jeff
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Astounding History Of An Oft-Forgotten Era。 One point Swift makes in this text is clear even in my own experience - *even as someone who has been to the NASA Cape Canaveral Visitor Center many times*: The era of Apollo after 11 and in particular after 13 is often forgotten in the zeitgeist。 People talk about Armstrong and Aldrin all the time。 People even talk about Lovell and Mattingly in Apollo 13 a fair amount （helped somewhat by the excellent and mostly realistic Tom Hanks movie and the fact Astounding History Of An Oft-Forgotten Era。 One point Swift makes in this text is clear even in my own experience - *even as someone who has been to the NASA Cape Canaveral Visitor Center many times*: The era of Apollo after 11 and in particular after 13 is often forgotten in the zeitgeist。 People talk about Armstrong and Aldrin all the time。 People even talk about Lovell and Mattingly in Apollo 13 a fair amount （helped somewhat by the excellent and mostly realistic Tom Hanks movie and the fact that to this day， NASA sells quite a bit of "Failure Is Not An Option" merchandise）。 But after that particular era is when the "real" lunar science began。 And for that， NASA needed another tool that got a fair amount of （slightly inaccurate） press back in the day， but whose story has never been quite so thoroughly documented as this particular effort by Swift。 That tool was the lunar rover， aka the "moon buggy"， and here Swift does an extremely thorough job of documenting the first inklings of an idea that it may be possible through the early history of American rocketry （while not hiding one iota from its roots in Nazi experimentation） through the conceptualization and manufacturing of the actual rover and even into its impacts on modern rover design， such as the newest Mars rover， Perseverance。 The book does get in the weeds a bit with the technical designs and what exactly went into each， along with the various conceptual and manufacturing challenges of each。 Similar to how Tom Clancy was also known to get so in the weeds about certain particulars from time to time， so Swift is in good company there。 But ultimately， this is an extremely well researched and documented book that does a simply amazing job of really putting you right there as all of these events unfold， all the way to feeling the very dirt and grit the final men to walk on the moon experienced when they had certain cosmetic failures on the buggy。。。 millions of miles away from being able to really do anything about it。 Truly an excellent work that anyone remotely interested in humanity's efforts to reach outide of our own atmosphere should read。 Very much recommended。 。。。more
Pop Bop
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Wow。 Just， Wow！The Lunar Rover didn't get to the Moon until Apollo 15。 By then people were jaded enough about Moon landings that there hadn't been much mission coverage in the popular press; certainly nothing like the coverage of the first landing。 But the Apollo 11 landing was really just the prelude to what would be the exciting and productive later landings。 The real science was done on the last three Apollo missions。 While the Apollo 11 astronauts wandered over an area considerably less than Wow。 Just， Wow！The Lunar Rover didn't get to the Moon until Apollo 15。 By then people were jaded enough about Moon landings that there hadn't been much mission coverage in the popular press; certainly nothing like the coverage of the first landing。 But the Apollo 11 landing was really just the prelude to what would be the exciting and productive later landings。 The real science was done on the last three Apollo missions。 While the Apollo 11 astronauts wandered over an area considerably less than the size of a football field， the last Apollo mission astronauts actually explored the Moon， with the indispensable aid of the Lunar Rover。 This book introduces the Rover， from conception to birth， and then takes you along with those explorers。The first third or so of the book gives you a good recap of NASA's entire manned spaceflight program， starting with Werner von Braun。 Starting that far back wasn't strictly necessary for the purpose of telling the Rover story， but no harm done; it's still interesting。 We conclude that section with a fairly crisp and concise outline of the engineering challenges that would be faced by the Rover dreamers and then the Rover designers。 The second third of the book covers way more about the details， setbacks， and complications of the actual development and fabrication and delivery of the Rover than you'll ever need to know， unless you are a special fan of Grumman， Boeing， Bendix， and GM， or of government procurement contracts， or of the project managers who toiled on the lunar project。 I have to admit to skimming a bit here， although there are interesting nuggets to be found。 In any event it's worth it because the last third of the book is the big payoff。 It takes you day by day， and almost hour by hour， through the final three Apollo missions。 You ride the Rover， skip around craters， pick up samples， and get a true， authentic feeling for what the astronauts actually did on the Moon。 You get to slip and slide and fishtail， and to huff and puff your way up and down crater rims and across pockmarked plateaus in search of shiny objects。 On the Moon。 Much of the tale is told with direct quotes from the astronauts drawn from Mission Control records， so you get a true， admittedly punched up， sense of "you are there！"。All of this is presented in an engaging， congenial， and well paced style that is commanding but not intrusive; somehow the author manages to provide detail and deep information while sustaining a colorful narrative。 Less than a textbook， but more than a fictionalized reimagining， this book hits the dead center sweet spot for popular science， and will get you looking back up at the Moon。（Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement， or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review。 Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book。） 。。。more
Alisa
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