"Apollo 14, the third mission during which men have worked on the surface of the Moon, was highly successful. This mission to the Fra Mauro Formation provided geophysical data from a new set of instruments... Because of improved equipment, such as the modularized equipment transporter, and because of the extended time spent on the lunar surface, a large quantity and variety of lunar samples were returned to Earth for detailed examination. New information concerning the mechanics of the lunar soil was also obtained during this mission. In addition, five lunar-orbital experiments were conducted during the Apollo 14 mission, needing no new equipment other than a camera. The experiments were executed by the command module pilot in the command and service module while the commander and the lunar module pilot were on the surface of the Moon. This report is preliminary in nature; however, it is meant to acquaint the reader with the actual conduct of the Apollo 14 scientific mission and to record the facts as they appear in the early stages of the scientific mission evaluation. As far as possible, data trends are reported, and preliminary results and conclusions are included."--p. xi.

The Apollo 17 flight and lunar landing, the sixth and final lunar landing and third extended science capability mission in the Apollo Program, are discussed with emphasis on the scientific endeavors conducted on the lunar surface. The scientific investigation of the mission is presented in three interrelated types of activities: the lunar surface sampling and observation, the lunar surface experiments, and the inflight experiments. Collection, documentation, and description of the lunar samples are discussed with a preliminary evaluation and analysis. The lunar surface experiments are described, including the results and their relationship to the scientific objectives of each experiment. The geochemical, photographic, geophysical, topographic, and medical data resulting from experiments conducted in flight are presented.

The character of the Apollo 17 mission to Taurus-Littrow was such that it invited superlatives. By almost all measures, it was an immensely successful voyage of exploration: the greatest harvest of new scientific data, the most kilometers traveled on the surface of the Moon, the largest number of scientific experiments performed-both in real time, by a scientist on the surface, and by automatic instrumentation installed and left behind-the longest time spent on and around the Moon, and the greatest amount of lunar samples returned for study in laboratories all over the world. But numerical measures like these, pleasing though they may be to the thousands of us who had some connection with this mission, do not seem an adequate characterization of this sixth and last of the Apollo series of manned lunar landings. We cannot now be sure how history will assess this extraordinary enterprise. It may be that, from the perspective of decades, the Apollo Program will stand out as the most singular achievement to date in the history of man's scientific and engineering endeavor. From this perspective, seen without hubris, it may be seen that all of us will be remembered for having lived at the time of Apollo. It may be that, in days to come, Apollo will be perceived as a threshold for mankind from the planet Earth. As the splashdown and recovery of the Apollo 17 crew marked the end of the Apollo flight program, this final volume marks the end of the Apollo Preliminary Science Reports. From every aspect, Apollo 17 was indeed a fitting capstone to the Apollo missions. Its awesome and magnificent midnight launch, its flawless operation, its 72-hr lunar stay time, its deployment of scientific instrumentation, its return of the richest collection of lunar materials from any lunar site, its orbital science coverage, and its glorious splashdown in the Pacific Ocean surely marked Apollo 17 as the mission most impressively exemplifying the Apollo Program.

Lunar Science: A Post-Apollo View: Scientific Results and Insights from the Lunar Samples explains the scientific results and discoveries of the manned Apollo lunar missions as they are understood. The emphasis is less on sample description and data and more on the interpretative aspects of the study, with the aim of providing a coherent story of the evolution of the moon and its origin as revealed by the lunar samples and the Apollo missions. This text has seven chapters; the first of which provides a historical background of efforts to study the moon prior to the Apollo missions, including lunar photogeologic mapping and direct exploration by spacecraft. Attention then turns to the Apollo missions and the lunar samples collected, beginning with Apollo 11 that landed on the moon on July 20, 1969 and followed by more missions. The next chapter describes the geology of the moon, with emphasis on craters, central peaks and peak rings, the large ringed basins, rilles, and maria lava flows. The reader is also introduced to the nature of the lunar surface material, the maria basalts, the highlands, and the moon's interior. This book concludes with a discussion on the evidence that has been gathered by the Apollo missions that offers insights into the origin and evolution of the moon. An epilogue reflects on the usefulness of manned space flight. This book will appeal to lunar scientists as well as to those with an interest in astronomy and space exploration.