Turning Dust to Gold / Springer Praxis Books (PDF)

Professor Benaroya is a well-known aerospace engineer and scholar with a wealth of publications to his credit. He has researched this subject for over 17 years, primarily at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

From the reviews:

“Turning Dust to Gold presents a history of the space program as well as a retrospective of that history. … The interview with Neil Armstrong and a few of the others deserve wide circulation. This well-written book makes the case for space exploration and manned settlement of the moon and planets, and explains how these activities can be accomplished. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals, general readers, and all space enthusiasts.” (A. M. Strauss, Choice, Vol. 48 (2), October, 2010)

“The book is essentially one long argument for the exploration, settlement, and economic utilization of Earth’s natural satellite. … The moon is the principle focus throughout … . Turning Dust to Gold makes a powerful case for the importance of lunar colonization, and outlines the steps human civilization is likely to have to make in order to achieve that goal. It contains much food for thought, and I recommend it highly to anyone with an interest in the future of human space exploration.” (Ian Crawford, The Observatory, Vol. 131 (1221), April, 2011)

“If the fiction takes place on the Moon or Mars, the fiction reader will further broaden his or her views and better exercise his or her ability to create or at least dream. This is certainly the goal of this book … . a well illustrated book with many diagrams, artistic views, and photographs. … We see it best used in a creative writing class either as an example of science fiction or as a basis for discussion between students of science and literature.” (Gary J. Long, Belgian Physical Society Magazine, Issue 3, 2011)