L'homme et l'espace

A wide-ranging survey of space published in 1972 and offered by the Banque Nationale de Paris. Across twenty-five chapters in four parts, the book covers the instruments of exploration (telescopes, rockets, satellites, probes, orbital stations), the observable universe (the Earth seen from space, the Moon, the Sun, the solar system, the Galaxy, stellar evolution), space applications (telecommunications, meteorology, positioning, remote sensing, technological spin-offs) and the human dimensions of the space adventure (astronauts and cosmonauts, extraterrestrial life, space law, international cooperation, philosophy and religion). The scientific supervision of the astronomical section was entrusted to Marcel Golay, director of the Geneva Observatory. The text is richly illustrated with black-and-white photographs and colour plates.