Across the Airless Wilds

The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings

By: Earl Swift

Narrated by: Adam Verner

“Earl Swift lays out this great unsung saga with verve and magisterial sweep."" —Hampton Sides

In this ""brilliantly observed"" (Newsweek) rediscovery of the final Apollo moon landings, the acclaimed author of Chesapeake Requiemreveals that these extraordinary yet overshadowed missions—distinguished by the use of the revolutionary lunar roving vehicle—deserve to be celebrated as the pinnacle of human adventure and exploration.

8:36 P.M. EST, December 12, 1972: Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt braked to a stop alongside Nansen Crater, keenly aware that they were far, far from home. They had flown nearly a quarter-million miles to the man in the moon’s left eye, landed at its edge, and then driven five miles in to this desolate, boulder-strewn landscape. As they gathered samples, they strode at the outermost edge of mankind’s travels. This place, this moment, marked the extreme of exploration for a species born to wander.

A few feet away sat the machine that made the achievement possible: an electric go-cart that folded like a business letter, weighed less than eighty pounds in the moon’s reduced gravity, and muscled its way up mountains, around craters, and over undulating plains on America’s last three ventures to the lunar surface.

In the decades since, the exploits of the astronauts on those final expeditions have dimmed in the shadow cast by the first moon landing. But Apollo 11 was but a prelude to what came later: while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin trod a sliver of flat lunar desert smaller than a football field, Apollos 15, 16, and 17 each commanded a mountainous area the size of Manhattan. All told, their crews traveled fifty-six miles, and brought deep science and a far more swashbuckling style of exploration to the moon. And they triumphed for one very American reason: they drove.

In this fast-moving history of the rover and the adventures it ignited, Earl Swift puts the reader alongside the men who dreamed of driving on the moon and designed and built the vehicle, troubleshot its flaws, and drove it on the moon’s surface. Finally shining a deserved spotlight on these overlooked characters and the missions they created, Across the Airless Wilds is a celebration of human genius, perseverance, and daring.

Good Book for Apollo Program Junkies

This book is quite interesting, covering an overlooked niche of the Apollo program: The lunar rover, or space buggy. The story of how industry and NASA brought the rover from concept to fruition in an astonishingly short period makes be admire all that NASA was in those days.

It also is in stark contrast to the dithering and lack of direction of NASA at the current moment (late August 2024), when two astronauts are left stranded for months on an aging space station that seems to serve no real purpose. Sad.

It's a good book, especially for space junkies.

Not great, but I found it interesting

First off, I'm an engineer, so I liked the book. People who aren't into making things probably won't find it as interesting.

Another fantastic book about one of the less-known parts of the Apollo program.

Another fantastic book about one of the less-known parts of the Apollo program. I learned so much about the Rovers. I didn’t know that so many companies submitted bids and ideas that were rejected- many of which were very creative. I’m so impressed that the Rover’s design apparently worked flawlessly once it got to the moon. It was human error that caused any issues. Such an amazing listen. Highly recommend!!!

What an amazing vehicle

I decided to give this book a listen after hearing how good it was, and in addition I needed something to listen to while I was building the LEGO Lunar Rover. I figured I would learn more about the vehicle I was building. It was really interesting and I appreciated the details on the development and production of the LRV. It was interesting to learn how it actually worked.

Exactly what it should be

Tight and focused on the subject matter, great ending chapters focused on performance on the moon.