Supporting the moon landing. Two early manuals relating to the Apollo Lunar Module, the craft that ferried astronauts between the moon's orbit and the lunar surface. The first is an orientation manual comprising 128 technical illustrations for every aspect of the lander, including its overall structure, each control panel, and flow charts explaining electrical, navigation, and guidance systems. The second volume is the support manual for the ECS Checkout Adaptor Kit, 'used to control and measure test fluid parameters and to gain access to various test points in the Environmental Control Subsystem during checkout operation' (introduction).

At the beginning of the Apollo program NASA engineers planned for a vehicle that would travel in one stage from Earth, or Earth's orbit, to the Moon and back. But in 1961 the team led by Dr. John Houbolt of the Dynamic Loads Division developed a plan for a multi-stage craft with a lander that would separate from the 'mother ship', visit the lunar surface, and then rejoin the other ship in orbit. Docking two spacecraft had never been attempted, but the technical challenges were outweighed by the fact that a separate vehicle would weigh significantly less and be easier to manoeuvre. The strategy was announced in July, 1962 and the contract for the lander was awarded to Grumman in November that year. Initially named the Lunar Excursion Module, as in these publications, the name was later changed to Lunar Module.

These two manuals were published just over a year before the module's first test flight on January 22, 1968. That mission, 'successfully verified operation of the spacecraft's performance, including the descent and ascent propulsion systems. Piloted test flights preceded the first Moon landing attempt. On Apollo 9 in March 1969, the LM was flown in Earth orbit. During Apollo 10 in May 1969, a LM descended to 50,000 feet above the lunar surface. The venerable lunar module showed its versatility serving as a "lifeboat" when the Apollo 13 command/service module was disabled by an oxygen tank explosion en route to the Moon in April 1970. But the LM will be remembered for its role between July 1969 and December 1972 as six of the spacecraft successfully landed 12 American astronauts on the Moon' (Granath, 'Apollo's Lunar Module Bridge Technological Leap to the Moon', NASA, January 28, 2019).

Volume I: Early technical manual; perfect bound; 128 plates of which 1 is folding (no text contents), light spotting of the title and a few scattered spots to the contents, lower corner of title torn, two divider tabs at rear torn with some loss of text; original turquoise, stiff paper covers bound with a long metal brad that has partially rusted, lower corner of upper cover torn away, covers marked and worn, very good condition. Volume II: Early technical manual; perfect bound; 2 folding plates, illustrations within the text, partial tanning of the title; original blue, stiff paper covers bound with a long metal brad that is partially rusted, covers rubbed, very good condition.