Lunar Science: A Post - Apollo View

Lunar Science: A Post-Apollo View: Scientific Results and Insights from the Lunar Samples examines the scientific data and discoveries provided by the manned Apollo lunar missions as they are understood. The interpretative aspects of the study are given emphasis in order to present a coherent story of the evolution and origin of the moon based on the lunar samples collected by Apollo. This text has seven chapters; the first of which discusses studies and observations of the moon, particularly its surface, prior to Apollo. Attention then turns to the beginning of the Apollo missions, six of which were successful and one was aborted. The next chapter outlines the broad framework of the lunar landscape and the stratigraphic relations, focusing on lunar topography and other geologic features such as craters, rilles, central peaks and peak rings, wrinkle ridges, and maria lava flows. The reader is also introduced to the nature of the moon's surface, highlighting features such as microcraters and micrometeorites, along with maria basalts, the highlands, and the lunar interior. A chapter on the state of knowledge about the evolution and origin of the moon based on evidence gathered by the Apollo missions concludes the book. An epilogue assesses the usefulness of manned space flight. This book will be valuable to lunar scientists as well as to those with an interest in astronomy and space exploration.