# Beyond the Moon *A memoir-history by Robert S. Kraemer, NASA's Director of Planetary Programs in the years it describes.* > I did not read this book. It is in copyright, and I opened only its catalogue records, the Open Library table of contents, and pages about the author. The outline below is the chapter list from Open Library, not a summary of the text. ## 1. Book facts | | | |---|---| | Title | *Beyond the Moon: A Golden Age of Planetary Exploration, 1971–1978* | | Author | Robert S. Kraemer; foreword and appendix by Roger D. Launius (Open Library contents) | | Publisher | Smithsonian Institution Press (Open Library; Kraemer's site says "Smithsonian Institution") | | Published | 2000 | | ISBN | 9781560989547 (Open Library record resolves from this ISBN; the book page on the author's site gives 1560989548, the ISBN-10) | | Pages | 270 (Open Library) | | Series | Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight Series (bookseller listing, not checked further) | | Library of Congress number | 00026963 (Open Library) | **Where it came up.** - [A Visual History of Every Interplanetary Mission](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4b9R8Xqej4), The Overview Effect: listed under the video's sources ("Robert S. Kraemer, *Beyond the Moon*"). Vault note: [[Video Summaries/The Overview Effect/A Visual History of Every Interplanetary Mission]]. - [The Myths of Spaceflight History](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlFciE2iNW4), The Overview Effect: listed under the video's sources as *Beyond the Moon* (2000). Vault note: [[Video Summaries/The Overview Effect/The Myths of Spaceflight History]]. ## 2. Book resources - [Open Library record](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL15494177M) (contents list, ISBN, page count) - [Author's memorial website](https://kraemerbeyondthemoon.com/) with a [Books page](https://kraemerbeyondthemoon.com/books.html) - [Internet Archive lending copy](https://archive.org/details/beyondmoongolden0000krae) - [Wikipedia: Robert S. Kraemer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_S._Kraemer) **Where to get it (legal, free).** No public-domain or open-access full text located: the book is still in copyright. The Internet Archive lists a controlled-digital-lending copy (borrow with a free account; I did not borrow it). A public library or inter-library loan is the other free route. The author's family site links only to a bookseller. ## 3. Author biography Robert Samuel Kraemer (21 October 1928 – 20 August 2013) was an American aerospace engineer, born in Fullerton, California. Wikipedia says he took a B.S. in aeronautical engineering at Notre Dame (1950) and a master's in aerospace engineering at Caltech (1951). He designed rocket engines at Rocketdyne, headed Advanced Design there for over a decade (work on the engines for Jupiter, Thor, Atlas and Saturn rockets), then joined Ford's Aeronutronic Division in 1961 as chief engineer for Space Systems. He joined NASA in 1967. Wikipedia reports that he replaced Don Hearth as Director of Planetary Programs in June 1970 and was officially given the title in March 1971; he held it to 1976. His family's website gives the span as 1970–1976. In that job he oversaw Mariner 8/9/10, Pioneer 10/11, Helios 1/2, Viking 1/2, Voyager 1/2 and Pioneer Venus 1/2 (Wikipedia's list). He received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal (1977, per Wikipedia), later served at Goddard Space Flight Center, and retired from NASA in 1990. He wrote two books: this one and *Rocketdyne: Powering Humans into Space* (AIAA; Wikipedia gives 2007, his site 2006). Sources: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_S._Kraemer); [family site](https://kraemerbeyondthemoon.com/); [National Air and Space Museum Wall of Honor page](https://airandspace.si.edu/support/wall-of-honor/robert-s-kraemer) (loads; I did not use its text). ## 4. Author interviews and talks - [Rocket-Propelled Launch Vehicles](https://kraemerbeyondthemoon.com/lecture.html): a 56-minute recorded lecture to the Charlestown community, Catonsville, Maryland, 2008, hosted on his family's site as a video (the page describes it; I did not watch it). - The [In Memoriam page](https://kraemerbeyondthemoon.com/in-memoriam.html) links his 2013 Los Angeles Times obituary and his son's remembrance as PDFs; I opened the page only. - I found no interviews about *Beyond the Moon* itself. ## 5. Summary **What it is.** From the catalogue title and contents, the book covers the NASA planetary missions of 1971–1978 by the official who ran the programme. The author's Wikipedia page lists the same missions under his direction. The 2018 NASA volume *Critical Issues in the History of Spaceflight* is cited by Wikipedia for the book's existence; I did not open it. I did not read the text, so I make no claim about its argument. **Chapter outline (Open Library table of contents).** 1. Foreword (Roger D. Launius) 2. On the shoulders of giants: developing the technology 3. 1971: Mariner 9 Mars orbit 4. 1972 and 1973: Pioneer 10 and 11 Jupiter and Saturn flybys 5. 1974 and 1976: Helios 1 and 2 solar probes 6. 1973: Mariner 10 Venus and Mercury flybys 7. 1975: Viking 1 and 2 Mars orbits and landings 8. 1977: Voyager 1 and 2 flybys of the outer planets 9. 1978: Pioneer Venus 1 and 2 orbit and probes 10. Epilogue: From gloom of night to new light of dawn 11. Appendix (Roger D. Launius) **Why it matters in context.** The Overview Effect videos cite it as a source for a history of interplanetary missions, which matches the contents: a first-person account of how NASA's 1970s probes were organised. ## 6. Fact-check Overall verdict: **supported**. The videos cite the book only as a source, so the checkable claims are the bibliographic facts and the mission "firsts" that the book's chapters cover. I checked those against Wikipedia, not against the book. | Claim | Verdict | Evidence | |---|---|---| | The book was published in 2000 by the Smithsonian | Supported | [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL15494177M); [author's site](https://kraemerbeyondthemoon.com/books.html) | | Kraemer directed NASA planetary programs in the 1970s | Supported | Wikipedia (1970/71 to 1976); family site (1970–1976). The start date differs by a year between them | | Mariner 9 was the first spacecraft to orbit another planet | Supported | [Wikipedia: Mariner 9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_9); it narrowly beat the Soviet Mars 2 and 3 | | Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft through the asteroid belt | Supported | [Wikipedia: Pioneer 10](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_10) | | Pioneer 11 was the first to encounter Saturn | Supported | [Wikipedia: Pioneer 11](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_11) | | Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to visit Mercury and to fly by multiple planets | Supported | [Wikipedia: Mariner 10](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_10) | | Viking 1 made "the first soft landing on Mars" (Kraemer's Wikipedia page) | Disputed (wording) | Mars 3's lander soft-landed on 2 Dec 1971 but failed after about 110 seconds ([Wikipedia: Mars 3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_3)). Viking 1 was the first *successful* landing; I did not verify its date | | Pioneer Venus 1 was the "first spacecraft to enter Venus orbit" (same page) | Disputed | The Soviet Venera 9 orbiter entered Venus orbit on 20 October 1975, before Pioneer Venus Orbiter on 4 December 1978 ([Venera 9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venera_9); [Pioneer Venus Orbiter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Venus_Orbiter)) | | Voyager 1 was the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space | Supported | [Wikipedia: Voyager 1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_1) says it detected the plasma change on 25 August 2012; the same article cites a December 2012 report that it had not yet crossed. I did not resolve the timing | | What the book argues or reports | Unverified | I did not read it | ## 7. Citations and references - [Open Library: Beyond the Moon](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL15494177M); [Internet Archive item](https://archive.org/details/beyondmoongolden0000krae). - [Robert S. Kraemer's family site](https://kraemerbeyondthemoon.com/) (Home, [Books](https://kraemerbeyondthemoon.com/books.html), [Lecture](https://kraemerbeyondthemoon.com/lecture.html), [In Memoriam](https://kraemerbeyondthemoon.com/in-memoriam.html)). - [Wikipedia: Robert S. Kraemer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_S._Kraemer); mission pages: [Mariner 9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_9), [Mariner 10](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_10), [Pioneer 10](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_10), [Pioneer 11](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_11), [Mars 3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_3), [Venera 9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venera_9), [Pioneer Venus Orbiter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Venus_Orbiter), [Voyager 1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_1). - Videos: [A Visual History of Every Interplanetary Mission](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4b9R8Xqej4); [The Myths of Spaceflight History](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlFciE2iNW4).