astronomy

In this book, Peter Eckart has assembled the collective writings of many of the leaders who are developing advanced engineering and science concepts for a return to the moon and the establishment of a permanent lunar base, which is capable of exploring the moon in great detail. These writings are not reprints from a conference or a previously published paper, but a detailed summary of the work to date on a variety of subjects from the site selection of a lunar base and the transportation means to get to the moon, to the details regarding advanced exploration and regenerative life support systems. The book also includes the more mundane systems needed to make a lunar base function, such as the thermal control system and the communication system.

While portions of this book maybe overly technical for some readers, there are numerous sections that provide a general overview of equipment, lunar exploration history, and transportation techniques. There are two sections, one written by Buzz Aldrin and one by Jack Schmidt that describe in great detail various aspects of lunar exploration. Typically, most astronauts authored writings found in books are simply a page or two. All in all, I couldn't find a topic that was omitted from the book.

I also conducted a comprehensive review of several sections of the book, which are related to my engineering area of expertise. Specifically, I reviewed the thermal control system, power system, EVA, and life support sections. In all these sections, I only found one error, which appeared to be a typo. The lone error leads me to believe that other sections were equally as error free.

In summary, I always enjoy reading books like these, because they show that even though the US government does not support going back to the moon, many individuals are still committed to returning people to the moon. Finally, regardless of your technical ability, you can learn a great deal from this book.

This book, which is not only extensive and exetremely usefull but also very easy to read, provides the only complete overview of aspects considering the moon from an engineering point of view. All aspects are explained and start with basics and summarizes all possibilities. My book is full of post-it notes where the parts are marked that I had to use frequently. It is the most used book from all my moon-related books I have, because it is so complete. The essays from lunar explorers around the world are a nice extra. It would be a good study object for a course.

This book is a MUST for eveyone seriously interested in lunar exploration. Since Wendell Mendells generatuion-inspiring lunar base document, this is the most complete overview on technical and non-technical aspects of the selenological adventure. One can start as an amateur: after having completed this large volume he/she will have an excellent interdisciplinary insight into our future on the Moon.