The Moon

Sanlyn Buxner

DK, 2022

80pp., hbk., RRP $A27.99

 9780241529065

It seems incredible that it is more than 50 years since almost every eye on Earth was turned towards the moon as its surface was disturbed by the first human footsteps and that is it almost 50 years since the last mission when Apollo 17 landed in December, 1972.

Yet now, as then, and indeed for thousands of years, the fascination with our planet’s nearest neighbour remains – a regular nightly sight that appears and disappears almost magically and which has such an impact on our lives.  In this new guide written and illustrated for our younger readers, that ‘magic’ and influence and impact is explained in accessible language and lots of photographs and diagrams that that age group can readily understand as it covers  the Moon’s formation and geography, the lunar phases, a history of NASA’s Apollo missions, the Moon’s effect on Earth’s tides and nocturnal animals, its place in our mythology, recent scientific discoveries, and so much more. It includes up-to-date images from space agencies such as NASA and ESA, combined with bold illustrations, info panels, timelines, and diagrams that help demystify and explain the wonder of the Moon with all that we have learned since those first tentative footsteps of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

As interest in moon exploration grows again with NASA’s Project Artemis with plans to have humans back on the surface in 2025,  with the first major step hopefully being conducted on November 14, 2022, this is one that your budding young astronauts with their own, realistic aspirations of one day going there, will be demanding.