coming soon..., books to be published soon Options

[monitorlizard]

I thought there might be some merit in UMSF members alerting each other to forthcoming books that seem especially interesting. This book complements Phil Stooke's new book quite well, and looks like a lot of fun:

Robert Godwin -- The Lunar Exploration Scrapbook (Apogee Books) coming Dec. 1, 2007 (224 pages) $18.48 at Amazon.com (US site)

Description: From single-seat landers to rocket backpacks and lunar bulldozers, this study takes readers into the imagination of the world's top aerospace engineers by presenting NASA's lunar spacecraft research. A unique blend of history and imagination, this resource covers not only the actual exploration of the moon conducted during the Apollo program of the 1960s and 1970s, but also includes a presentation of dozens of spacecraft that were never built. Vivid, colorful renderings of the conceptual crafts--many of which are not available anywhere else--are also included, providing a visual progression of NASA's technological advancements.

(At least I hope this isn't redundant of Phil Stooke's forthcoming reference standard.)

[Paolo]

Phil,
you asked it. Part 2 will have three chapters, and this is more or less the TOC. all titles are to be confirmed

Chapter 4 (the chapter numbers are carried over from Part 1) "The decade of Halley"
- The Crisis: about the planetary exploration crisis in the US in the 80s
- The Face of Venus: about VOIR and Venera 15 and 16
- The Mission of a Lifetime: Halley mission planning and description of Giotto, Suisei, Vega etc.
- To Venus for the Last Time: Vega at Venus
- Two Lives, one Spacecraft: ISEE 3/ICE
- "But Now Giotto has the Shout": Halley exploration
- Extrended Missions: the successive missions of Suisei, Sagigake and Giotto to G-S
- Low Cost Missions: Take One: Planetary Observer and Mariner Mk II
- Comet Frenzy: Comet exploration projects: CAESAR, SOCCER, CRAF, the Rosetta sample return etc.
- The Rise of Vermin: Asteroid exploration projects: Vesta, Piazzi, AGORA, Asterex, NEAR etc.
- An Arrow to the Sun: Solar probes
- Into the Infinite: Interstellar probe precursor studies
- Europe tries harder: Kepler, Mercury orbiters etc.
Chapter 4 is complete and we are correcting it

Chapter 5 "The Era of Flagships"
- The Final Soviet Debacle: Fobos
- Mapping Hell: Magellan
- The Reluctant Flagship: Galileo
- Asteroids into Minor Planets: Galileo to Venus, Gaspra, Ida etc.
- A New Galilean Satellite: Galileo primary mission
- Return to Europa and Io: Galileo Europa and millennium missions, end of mission
- Beyond the Pillars of Hercules: Ulysses
- The Darkest Hour: Mars Observer
- Overdue and Overexpensive: the Mars Rover and Sample Return mission of the 80s
Chapter 5 is almost complete and I am making the first correction pass

Chapter 6 "Faster, Cheaper, Better"
- Sails Return: the Martian solar sail regatta etc.
- A New Hope: the Discovery program, Clementine 1 and 2
- In Love with Eros: NEAR
- Completing the Census: Pluto Fast Flyby, Pluto Kuiper Express etc
- NASA Licks its Wounds...: Mars Global Surveyor
- Sinking the Heritage: Mars 96 and Russian projects
- Wheels on Mars: Mars Pathfinder
Chapter 6 is 70 per cent complete as of today