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HOW times have changed. Today, it takes adult diapers and love-triangle-fuelled attacks to sully an astronaut’s reputation. But in 1972, NASA fired astronaut Al Worden for his involvement in a deal to profit from postmarked envelopes he and two crewmates had taken to the moon with them on the Apollo 15 mission the year before.

Worden refused to go, and after a tongue-lashing before Congress and an investigation, was found guilty of nothing worse than poor judgement. But his career as an astronaut was ruined and he was shunned by peers. Falling to Earth is an attempt to set the record straight, though it hardly seems necessary, as the offence – stamp collecting! – is almost quaint.

Still, his description of the crew’s 12-day mission to the moon, where he orbited the surface alone for three days, is riveting. With the shuttle newly retired, it is also bittersweet.