The Next 50 Years on the Moon (1974)

Happy 2010! It seems like such a futuristic date, when you were born what did you think 2010 would look like? I certainly thought when we landed on the moon that it wouldn't take us 50 years to get back. In 1974 this seemed like the map of the future.

Bergaust, Erik The Next 50 Years on the Moon. New York: GP Putnam's Sons. (94 p.) 24 cm.

This is a fascinating book using aerospace contractor's paintings to illustrate the planned next steps on the Moon including the first scientific colonies and establishment of a lunar colony. Many of the illustrations are from long abandoned plans (even at that time) but the story of our future reads like an alternate history. The last chapter is a 50 year timetable from 1970 to 2020 how a manned presence on the Moon will become ordinary. Illustrations of Moon rovers and Moon colony designs.