Soviet and Russian Lunar Exploration [Paperback]

This book tells the story of the Soviet and Russian lunar programme, from its origins to the present-day federal Russian space programme. Brian Harvey describes the techniques devised by the USSR for lunar landing, from the LK lunar module to the LOK lunar orbiter and versions tested in Earths orbit. He asks whether these systems would have worked and examines how well they were tested. He concludes that political mismanagement rather than technology prevented the Soviet Union from landing cosmonauts on the moon. The book is well timed for the return to the moon by the United States and the first missions there by China and India.

This book tells the story of the Soviet and Russian lunar programme, from its origins to the present-day federal Russian space programme. It concludes that political mismanagement rather than technology prevented the Soviet Union from landing cosmonauts on the moon.

Origins of the Soviet lunar programme.- The first moon probes.- Planning the lunar landing.- The soft- landers and orbiters.- The first cosmonauts to the moon.- Around the moon.- Samplers, rovers and orbiters.- Return to the moon.- List of all Soviet moon probes (and related missions).- Bibliographical note and bibliography.

From the reviews:

Brian Harvey, who has written a number of books on aspects of Soviet/Russian space programmes, has produced an excellent work in this latest volume. & A good feature of this book are the little summaries at the end of each chapter or major section, as well as the various statistical tables. There are also lots of illustrations. & Anyone with an interest in the history of Soviet/Russian space activities would find & illuminating and rewarding. (Liftoff, Issue 239, 2007)

Harvey concisely covers the Soviet space program from the mid-1950s through the mid-1970s. & The book is very readable and a good general survey of the history of the Soviel³—