First published 2017
Thomas A. Sullivan compiles the complete record of scientific experiments conducted during Project Apollo missions. This comprehensive catalog examines both surface and orbital experiments, detailing each mission's purpose, equipment deployment, site selection, and operational challenges. Sullivan documents how astronauts unloaded instruments from the lunar module, navigated lunar terrain, and operated complex equipment while wearing pressure suits. The catalog reveals the unexpected difficulties crews faced: cables that stuck upright in low gravity and caught on boots, instruments that toppled easily, and lunar dust that created abrasion, visibility, and thermal control problems. Each experiment entry covers the tools required, success or failure rates, and differences between Earth training and actual lunar operations. Sullivan shows how working in pressure suits severely limited astronaut dexterity, particularly hand movements. The book serves both as historical documentation of Apollo lunar science and as a planning guide for future Moon missions.
Genres: history, science, space, non-fiction, astronomy, academic
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: planning-guide
Setting: Earth, Moon
Period: 20th-century
158 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform