The authors provide a detailed history of unmanned exploration of our Solar System. The subject is treated from an engineering and scientific standpoint. Technical descriptions of the spacecraft, of their mission designs and of instrumentations are provided.

This book provides a detailed history of unmanned missions of exploration of our Solar System. It uses sources only recently made available on the Soviet space program, in addition to some obscure and rarely used references on the European space program. Unflown European projects of the 1960s and 1970s, a subject never before treated, are also be covered. As in their previous book 'Lunar Exploration' the subject is treated wherever possible from an engineering and scientific standpoint. Technical descriptions of the spacecraft, of their mission designs and of instrumentations are provided. Scientific results are discussed in considerable depth, together with details of mission management. The book comprehensively covers missions and results from the 1950s until the present day, and some of the latest missions and their results appear in a popular science book for the first time.

The 3-volume series will provide comprehensive coverage with thousands of references to the professional literature that should make it the 'first port of call' for people seeking information on the topic Emphasises the technology of space probes Comprehensive coverage ranges from the earliest planetary probes to the most recent planetary flights and missions Provides multilingual references (including Chinese, Russian, Czech, French, Italian) Details many unflown and unfulfilled missions, which may still be proven and useful in the future Describes the technical rivalry between the US and Soviet Union in the development of launchers

Autorentext

Paolo Ulivi was born in Florence, Italy and graduated from the Politecnico di Milano University with a thesis on robotics for Mars sample return missions. He works as a consultant in aerospace structures in Toulouse, France. In his free time, he researches the history of astronautics, astronomy, aeronautics and the Cold War. He is also an amateur astronomer and specializes in Solar System observations. David Harland studied astronomy to degree level, and pursued a career lecturing in computer science, and academic and industrial research. In 1995, David "retired" to resume his interest in space and started to write. He has over two dozen books published to date, a majority of them with Springer/Praxis and several others under contract. These days he considers himself to be an amateur hermit and a professional space historian.

Inhalt
The Decade of Halley.- The Era of Flagships.- Faster Cheaper Better.- Glossary.- Acronyms.- Various lists of facts and figures.- Sources.- Further reading.