Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8730 in Software
• Brand: Focus Multimedia Ltd
• Released on: 2001-01-22
• Platforms: Windows 98, Windows 95

Amazon.co.uk Review
Patrick Moore: the name is practically synonymous with astronomy today. Who better, then, to teach about space than the great man himself? Moore provides the narration for one of the four areas of this CD-ROM, Chapters, which covers a range of space-related subjects from Space Probes and the Space Shuttle to the Apollo Project and the Solar System. His narration is interesting, and is often accompanied by slideshows of pictures, many of them taken from space.

The other three sections of the Interactive Space Encyclopedia don't involve Patrick Moore. A Timeline lets you learn about the key events in space exploration. It includes an index of events as well as a chronological listing, though sadly you can't actually search this. The Tutorials are narrated sections on eight topics with a wide range. Subjects include gravity and the scale of space.

A section called Space Travel lets you fly a virtual spaceship, selecting a destination from any of the planets in our Solar System. Once at the destination you can drop a probe to take a closer look. Doing so rewards you with a sequence of images and explanation of what they show. The budget-priced Interactive Space Encyclopedia does not have as much content as some other space-related CD ROMs, nor is it as well produced. But its information is pitched at a good level for younger users, and particularly for those making their first forays into learning about the Final Frontier. --Sandra Vogel

Manufacturer's Description
Take a personal journey of discovery exploring the solar system in the company of Sir Patrick Moore. Marvel at the world's most spectacular technological achievements and share in the discoveries of the great space pioneers and scientists.

Topics - provide 11 carefully structured themes with voice-overs by Sir Patrick Moore - including the Solar System, the US, Russian and European Space Programs, the Apollo Project, Space Probes and Space Stations.

Timeline - presents a complete history of space exploration from the 1940's to the present day, detailing year by year, the people and the events behind the world's greatest technological achievements - from Sputnik to the Shuttle.

Space Travel - fly your own spacecraft anywhere in the Solar System. Let Voyager 2 take you on a grand tour of the outer planets. Experience Apollo 11's mission to the moon or a typical Shuttle flight to launch a satellite. Over 150 3D full screen animations illustrate spectacular events and scientific concepts - such as a Delta rocket launch, a satellite in geostationary orbit, the rotation of the Earth and the orbits of the planets.

2,000 Photographs - all full-screen colour images - present the people, spacecraft and discoveries of the space age, together with a selection of the most famous film sequences of men walking on the Moon's surface. Over 1,000 text documents are supported with interactive keywords. Each keyword takes you to another document or entry in the encyclopedic dictionary of astronomy and space. All text can be printed and exported.