By David Maclennan
The following is an annotated list of good books and websites on space exploration. It is by no means exhaustive or definitive, but merely a listing of sources I have found useful over the years. There are many more that could be added to this list. As for the websites, within most of them you will find links to other, equally good site. Explore them for yourself.
A Man on the Moon -- Andrew Chaikin (Viking, New York, 1994)
The very best book ever written on the Apollo Moon missions. What more can one say? Highly recommended. (This is the book the TV series From the Earth to the Moon was largely based on.)
Apollo - The Race to the Moon -- Charles Murray & Catherine Bly Cox (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1989)
Unlike most Apollo books, which focus on the missions and the astronauts, this excellent account tells the story of the engineers and mission controllers who made it happen, and the challenges they faced. Again, highly recommended.
Moon Shot - The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon -- Alan Shepard & Deke Slayton (Turner Publishing, Atlanta, 1994)
Shepard and Slayton were two of the "Original Seven" Mercury astronauts, so this provides some unique perspectives on the period.
First on the Moon - A Voyage With Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin Aldrin -- Gene Farmer & Dora Jane Hamblin (Michael Joseph, London, 1970)
An oldie but a goodie! The most comprehensive account of the Apollo 11 mission ever written.
The Last Man on the Moon -- Eugene Cernan with Don Davis (St. Martin's Press, New York, 1999)
A number of Apollo astronauts have written autobiographies over the years, and this is the latest one, and possibly the best of all. An honest account of a special time.
Korolev - How One Man Masterminded the Soviet Drive to Beat America to the Moon -- James Harford (John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1997)
An award-winner and deservedly so. A fascinating account of the man who masterminded the Soviet Union's space programme from its inception to his untimely death in 1966.
The New Russian Space Programme - From Competition to Collaboration -- Brian Harvey (John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 1996)
A comprehensive overview of the USSR/Russian space programme from its inception to the present day. Probably the best single book available on the subject.
Countdown - A History of Space Flight -- T.A. Heppenheimer (John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1997)
A good overview of the history of space flight, but the author's bias in favour of robotic over human exploration is obvious.
Dragonfly - NASA and the Crisis Aboard Mir -- Bryan Burrough (HarperCollins, New York, 1998)
A gripping and eye-opening account of the Shuttle/Mir missions. It paints a very different picture to that presented by NASA's PR machine. A "must" to read!
The Superpower Space Race -- Robert Reeves (Plenum Press, New York, 1994)
Despite the title, this is actually a pretty good account of US and Soviet robotic planetary exploration missions.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Space Technology (2nd Edition) -- Kenneth Gatland, et al. (Salamander Books, London, 1989)
If you're a hardware freak, this is the book for you. It's profusely illustrated with photos and excellent cutaway diagrams of most of the major spacecraft and rockets of the space age. Oh, and the text is pretty good too! A little dated now, but still an excellent reference book.
The Case for Mars - The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must -- Robert Zubrin with Richard Wagner (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, New York, 1996)
The title says it all really. Zubrin is president of the Mars Society, and the man behind the "Mars Direct" plan to lower the cost of sending humans to the red planet.
This New Ocean -- William E. Burrows (Random House, New York)
An excellent and comprehensive history of the space age, written in a readable style.
To Rise From Earth: The Complete Guide to Spaceflight (2nd Ed.) -- Wayne Lee (Blandford, London, 2000)
The nuts and bolts and theory of spaceflight explained in a readable style by one of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's space mission designers. Explores the history and technology of spaceflight, aided by many excellent illustrations.
As its name implies, this is the premier on-line space encyclopedia. A good first place to look for just about anything.
An excellent, profusely illustrated source of information on the long-secret Soviet Moon landing programme of the 1960s.
The main NASA home page. Start here and explore! Lots of links, including to all the NASA centres and projects.
NASA Human Spaceflight home page
For NASA information on Shuttle missions, the International Space Station, and future Moon/Mars exploration plans, this is the site to click on.
An essential source for space history fans. A good source of information on subjects like the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programmes. A number of NASA history books can be accessed on-line through this site.
A good source of news on NASA space science missions and discoveries. Updated regularly.
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
This is the place to go for up-to-date news and information on NASA's planetary missions like Galileo, Cassini and Mars Surveyor, as well as other JPL projects.
America's Spaceport. A good archive of material on Apollo, Shuttle and more can be found here.
The home of NASA's human spaceflight programme, and Missions Control. Information on Shuttle and ISS can be found here.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre
This centre manages most of NASA's space science and Earth observation missions.
JPL Mars exploration home page
For the latest images and information on Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Pathfinder, and future Mars missions, go here.
Advanced Space Transportation (NASA)
The future starts here! Information on future space transportation, including the X-33 and X-34 programmes.
Space Telescope Science Institute
The place to go for the latest pictures and information from the Hubble Space Telescope.
A superb non-NASA site for Apollo fans. Heaps of excellent info and pictures. A must.
The Apollo Saturn Reference Page
Good information on the Saturn rockets and Launch Comples 39.
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Apollo Lunar Module.
An essential reference for the serious Apollo fan. Transcripts and photos from all the Apollo Moonwalks, annotated by the astronauts themselves in most cases. A truly superb site.
Another good Apollo site.
Moon/Mars exploration and settlement plans
A collection of annotated references on future Moon/Mars exploration. A very good site.
NASA Ames Research Center's Center for Mars Exploration
A good source of Mars information and educational activities.
The main home page for ESA, with links to all of their projects and departments.
National Space Development Agency of Japan
The main Japanese space agency. English or Japanese versions available.
Institute of Space and Astronautical Sciences (Japan)
The home page for japan's other space agency, this one concentrating on space science projects such as the Nozomi Mars probe.
An excellent source of daily news on what's happening in space.
Another very fine site for daily space news. Based in Australia.
An excellent source for information on Mars exploration.
Mars and Mars exploration news
A very good daily news source devoted to Mars and Mars exploration news.