Distant Worlds: Milestones in Planetary Exploration - Softcover

Using a double-page spread Peter Bond provides a brief overview of the most important missions in planetary exploration, illustrating it on the page opposite in full colour. This would include one spread on pre-space-age knowledge, one spread (if appropriate) on each of the major missions to explore that planet, and subsequent spreads summarising the key results returned by that mission or series of missions. The spacecraft spread would include a description of the hardware, the problems that arose prior to arrival at the planet(s) e.g. navigation and communication failures. However, the ‘meat’ of the book will be the carefully selected images and the associated descriptions of the scientific results. In order to prevent an overemphasis on technology and scientific results, there will be some reference to the human aspects of the missions. This may include original quotes and comments from some of the main participants in the missions that will help to reveal the emotions of the mission team members and also show how ideas and concepts shifted as new information became available e.g. the first Mars missions showed an arid world covered in craters. Later missions uncovered huge canyons, volcanoes and subsurface ice. There will also be an appendix listing all planetary missions (successes and failures). This will make the book a valuable reference source for anyone – historians, scientists or general public – interested in planetary exploration.