Taking Science to the Moon

Taking Science to the Moon transports the reader behind NASAs facade, and into the 1960s' politics, planning sessions, turf battles, camaraderie, and jealousies of the world's major space agency. An absorbing, insightful, and revealing critical history of what eventually turned out to be a hugely successful scientific endeavor.

Comprehensive yet thoroughly readable, it will hold great appeal for rocket enthusiasts, providing as it does a behind-the-scenes look at one of the greatest adventures in history.

We get valuable insights into how committees worked and into the struggles for scientific payload space on lunar landers, and into how geological objectives were devised. We also discover how fears of contamination from lunar organisms led to the creation of an elaborate quarantine facility for the first men on the moon. This is a fascinating book.

This is a very detailed yet clearly written and interesting account of the tremendous effort involved in getting the greatest science return from the Apollo program, starting with having it included in the first place.