Book Review: Mike Mars Around The Moon

Mike Mars Around the Moon
Donald A. Wollheim
Doubleday & Company, 1964


In these days with the Space Race long past us and even the Soviet
Union a fading memory, it is easy to forget many of the stories of courage
and daring and bravado that marked the space programs, public and secret,
of the 1960s. We are therefore indebted to Wollheim and publishers for
their stirring narratives of the astronaut corps of Space Task Group Q.

Of course no one in this group could be unfamiliar with Colonel
Michael Alfred Robert Samson -- whose initials gave him the catchy name
of Mike Mars -- and his astonishing career, but Wollheim helpfully
reminds the reader that as of this flight Mars had only had adventures
flying the X-15, Project Mercury, Dyna-Soar, the Antarctic project of
X-15 flights, and the famous Gemini flight in which he encountered and
destroyed a mysterious,hostile Soviet satellite.

At the start of this book, Mars has been informed that the
Soviets were planning to launch a circumlunar flight and reestablish
their claims to supremacy in space. Inspired by manager Dr. Van Ness,
the six astronauts of Task Group Q prepare for a test flight of the
then-experimental Advanced Saturn C-5 and then ride the rocket around
the Moon. It's worth noting this is a two-stage configuration, used
just to toss the Apollo C/SM around the moon. Public plans at this
time were, of course, to not launch any Saturns except in all-up
configurations, making their partial and test configurations in the
secret space program all the more surprising.


Mars, Johnny Bluehart, and Jack Lannigan -- the "Tycho Team"
of commander, navigator, and systems manager -- witness the first test
flight of this Advanced Saturn and wheel the next out of the Vehicle
Assembly Building (a massive structure capable of holding and rapidly
launching *six* Advanced Saturns). After (it's alleged) Soviet agents
attack the "Copernicus Team" of Hart Williams, Joseph Stacey, and Orin
McMahon, injuring them (though not severely), the Tycho Team is promoted
to the prime crew of Apollo One.

Their flight, which we now know to be both a race against Soviet
cosmonaut Arkady Kosmodin and an attempt to identify the source of a
strange and unearthly music detected by some Project Ozma recordings,
goes extremely well despite alleged mines planeted in their path by the
Soviet spoilsports. These A-bombs are detonated harmlessly by the
rapidly launched Copernicus Team on Apollo Two while Mars's crew makes
its look around the Moon.

While watching the awesome sight of Earth setting behind the Moon
and realizing themselves to be the first humans ever to be completely
out of sight of Earth, Mars improves his crew's spirits with a poem:

Michael Mars is my name,
America's my nation.
Space-flying is my game
And Mars my destination!

While it does not have the literary resonances of the recitation
Borman, Lovell, and Anders' "Genesis" recitation from Apollo 8, it does
have a certain basic charm.


Wollheim writes his narrative with great vitality; it's hard to
not be swept up in the energy. That said, it reveals some shocking gaps
for those trying to use it as a historical reference: biographical data
on the astronauts is provided only in asides. Discussions of the flight
controllers, the mission trainers, the command structure of Task Group Q
is barely outlined. Unforgivably for a set of books describing such a
little-known but important corner of space history the dates of flights
and mission lifetimes are not provided.

Nevertheless, I don't wish to discourage anyone from picking up
this book, or any of the other chronicles of Mike Mars's career. Despite
thier shortcomings they offer a fascinating view into the great and most
exciting days of the Space Race, and any regular to this group will most
certainly enjoy the insight.


Joseph Nebus
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On 20 Jul 2003 13:40:24 -0400, (Joseph Nebus) wrote:

Michael Mars is my name,
America's my nation.
Space-flying is my game
And Mars my destination!


"The trip will be boring and lame
and fun will be small in ration.
Since none of our crew is a dame
We'll have to resort to masturba..."


OM

--

"No ******* ever won a war by dying for | http://www.io.com/~o_m
his country. He won it by making the other | Sergeant-At-Arms
poor dumb ******* die for his country." | Human O-Ring Society

- General George S. Patton, Jr

"Joseph Nebus" wrote:
Nevertheless, I don't wish to discourage anyone from picking up
this book, or any of the other chronicles of Mike Mars's career. Despite
thier shortcomings they offer a fascinating view into the great and most
exciting days of the Space Race, and any regular to this group will most
certainly enjoy the insight.

I enjoyed reading a few of the "Mike Mars" series when I was younger... they
were *great*.

I found a few more used copies about 4-5 years ago and got them for my son
to read!

Nifty... thanks for the memories.

Roger
--
Roger Balettie
former Flight Dynamics Officer
Space Shuttle Mission Control
http://www.balettie.com/

On 20 Jul 2003 13:40:24 -0400, (Joseph Nebus) wrote:

Mike Mars Around the Moon
Donald A. Wollheim
Doubleday & Company, 1964


In these days with the Space Race long past us and even the Soviet
Union a fading memory, it is easy to forget many of the stories of courage
and daring and bravado that marked the space programs, public and secret,
of the 1960s. We are therefore indebted to Wollheim and publishers for
their stirring narratives of the astronaut corps of Space Task Group Q.

Of course no one in this group could be unfamiliar with Colonel
Michael Alfred Robert Samson -- whose initials gave him the catchy name
of Mike Mars -- and his astonishing career, but Wollheim helpfully
reminds the reader that as of this flight Mars had only had adventures
flying the X-15, Project Mercury, Dyna-Soar, the Antarctic project of
X-15 flights, and the famous Gemini flight in which he encountered and
destroyed a mysterious,hostile Soviet satellite.

At the start of this book, Mars has been informed that the
Soviets were planning to launch a circumlunar flight and reestablish
their claims to supremacy in space. Inspired by manager Dr. Van Ness,
the six astronauts of Task Group Q prepare for a test flight of the
then-experimental Advanced Saturn C-5 and then ride the rocket around
the Moon. It's worth noting this is a two-stage configuration, used
just to toss the Apollo C/SM around the moon. Public plans at this
time were, of course, to not launch any Saturns except in all-up
configurations, making their partial and test configurations in the
secret space program all the more surprising.


Mars, Johnny Bluehart, and Jack Lannigan -- the "Tycho Team"
of commander, navigator, and systems manager -- witness the first test
flight of this Advanced Saturn and wheel the next out of the Vehicle
Assembly Building (a massive structure capable of holding and rapidly
launching *six* Advanced Saturns). After (it's alleged) Soviet agents
attack the "Copernicus Team" of Hart Williams, Joseph Stacey, and Orin
McMahon, injuring them (though not severely), the Tycho Team is promoted
to the prime crew of Apollo One.

Their flight, which we now know to be both a race against Soviet
cosmonaut Arkady Kosmodin and an attempt to identify the source of a
strange and unearthly music detected by some Project Ozma recordings,
goes extremely well despite alleged mines planeted in their path by the
Soviet spoilsports. These A-bombs are detonated harmlessly by the
rapidly launched Copernicus Team on Apollo Two while Mars's crew makes
its look around the Moon.

While watching the awesome sight of Earth setting behind the Moon
and realizing themselves to be the first humans ever to be completely
out of sight of Earth, Mars improves his crew's spirits with a poem:

Michael Mars is my name,
America's my nation.
Space-flying is my game
And Mars my destination!

While it does not have the literary resonances of the recitation
Borman, Lovell, and Anders' "Genesis" recitation from Apollo 8, it does
have a certain basic charm.


Wollheim writes his narrative with great vitality; it's hard to
not be swept up in the energy. That said, it reveals some shocking gaps
for those trying to use it as a historical reference: biographical data
on the astronauts is provided only in asides. Discussions of the flight
controllers, the mission trainers, the command structure of Task Group Q
is barely outlined. Unforgivably for a set of books describing such a
little-known but important corner of space history the dates of flights
and mission lifetimes are not provided.

Nevertheless, I don't wish to discourage anyone from picking up
this book, or any of the other chronicles of Mike Mars's career. Despite
thier shortcomings they offer a fascinating view into the great and most
exciting days of the Space Race, and any regular to this group will most
certainly enjoy the insight.


Joseph Nebus
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'll have to dig this one up.
I have Mike Mars flies the X-15
Mike Mars flies the X-20

Dennis