1. The Man Who Went to the Far Side of the Moon
by Bea Uusma Schyffert

2. Story Summary
Do you know the story of Michael Collins, the Apollo 11 astronaut who went all the way to the moon but never walked on its surface? Instead, he orbited the moon 14 times, surrounded by 701 power switches and 20 pounds of checklists. Reminiscent of a scrapbook, this extraordinary book chronicles what Michael Collins did, saw, and thought about in space. Through fascinating facts, quotes, checklists, original drawings, and photos taken both in space and on Earth, it also tells how the astronauts prepared for their historic journey, what they brought with them, and what they left behind.

3. Review Questions
How was Michael’s training different from that of Buzz and Neil?
Why did Buzz and Neil take off their helmets when they returned to the lunar module?
What conclusion can you draw about Michael Collins?
What is the main idea of the selection?

4. Review Questions 5. What do the pictures on page 745 show?
6. How did the foods the astronauts ate in space compare to the foods on Earth?
7. What important information did you learn by reading the caption on page 747?
8. Who probably wrote the words on page 755, and when were they most likely written?

5. Review Questions
9. Why was landing on the moon the “major experiment”?
10. Why did the astronauts have to stay in a trailer when they returned to Earth?

6. Vocabulary - Say It astronauts lunar capsule module hatch quarantine
horizon
lunar
module
quarantine

7. More Words to Know
impact
sphere
transmission

8. astronauts
pilots or members of the crew of a spacecraft

9. capsule
the enclosed front section of a rocket made to carry instruments, astronauts, etc., into space

10. hatch
a trapdoor covering an opening in an aircraft’s or ship’s deck

11. horizon
line where the Earth and sky seem to meet

12. lunar
of, like, or about the moon

13. module
a self-contained unit or system within a larger system

14. quarantine
detention, isolation, and other measures taken to prevent the spread of an infectious disease

15. impact
action of striking one thing against another; collision

16. sphere
ball or globe

17. transmission
passage of electronic waves from a transmitter to a receiver

18. Last night, we watched the sun sink below the horizon.

19. The spread of illness may be stopped with the quarantine of infected people.

20. After the space mission ended, the capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.

21. The controls were in one module of the spacecraft.

22. The lunar surface is marked with craters.

23. Open the hatch to climb out of the spacecraft.

24. Every 120th minute he sees the Earth rise at the horizon.

25. Six hundred million people in 47 countries are watching the blurred TV transmission of the lunar landing.

26. The three astronauts piloted the spacecraft as it circled the moon.

27. The astronauts felt a slight bump on impact as they were landing.