This is a completely updated and revised version of a monograph published in 2002 by the NASA History Office under the original title Deep Space Chronicle: A Chronology of Deep Space and Planetary Probes, 1958-2000. This new edition not only adds all events in robotic deep space exploration after 2000 and up to the end of 2016, but it also completely corrects and updates all accounts of missions from 1958 to 2000--Provided by publisher.
"To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first successful planetary mission, Mariner 2 sent to Venus in 1962, the NASA History Program Office, the Division of Space History at the National Air and Space Museum, NASA's Science Mission Directorate, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory organized a symposium. "Solar System Exploration @ 50" was held in Washington, D.C., on 25-26 October 2012. The purpose of this symposium was to consider, over the more than 50-year history of the Space Age, what we have learned about the other bodies of the solar system and the processes by which we have learned it. Symposium organizers asked authors to address broad topics relating to the history of solar system exploration such as various flight projects, the development of space science disciplines, the relationship between robotic exploration and human spaceflight, the development of instruments and methodologies for scientific exploration, as well as the development of theories about planetary science, solar system origins and implications for other worlds. The papers in this volume provide a richly textured picture of important developments - and some colorful characters - in a half century of solar system exploration. A comprehensive history of the first 50 years of solar system exploration would fill many volumes. What readers will find in this volume is a collection of interesting stories about money, politics, human resources, commitment, competition and cooperation, and the "faster, better, cheaper" era of solar system exploration"--
The fascinating story of how NASA sent humans to explore outer space, told through a treasure trove of historical documents--publishing in celebration of NASA's 60th anniversary and with a foreword by Bill Nye "An extremely useful and thought provoking documentary journey through the maze of space history. There is no wiser or more experienced navigator through the twists and turns and ups and downs than John Logsdon." -James Hansen, New York Times bestselling author of First Man, now a feature film starring Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy Among all the technological accomplishments of the last century, none has captured our imagination more deeply than the movement of humans into outer space. From Sputnik to SpaceX, the story of that journey--including the inside history of our voyages to the moon depicted in First Man--is told as never before in The Penguin Book of Outer Space Exploration. Renowned space historian John Logsdon traces the greatest moments in human spaceflight by weaving together essential, fascinating documents from NASA's history with his expert narrative guidance. Beginning with rocket genius Wernher von Braun's vision for voyaging to Mars, and closing with Elon Musk's contemporary plan to get there, this volume traces major events like the founding of NASA, the first American astronauts in space, the Apollo moon landings, the Challenger disaster, the daring Hubble Telescope repairs, and more. In these pages, we such gems as Eisenhower's reactions to Sputnik, the original NASA astronaut application, John Glenn's reflections on zero gravity, Kennedy's directives to go to the moon, discussions on what Neil Armstrong's first famous first words should be, firsthands accounts of spaceflight, and so much more.
Traces NASA’s torturous journey to Mars from the fly-bys of the 1960s to landing rovers and seeking life today. Mars has captured the human imagination for decades. Since NASA’s establishment in 1958, the space agency has looked to Mars as a compelling prize, the one place, beyond the Moon, where robotic and human exploration could converge. Remarkably successful with its roaming multi-billion-dollar robot, Curiosity, NASA’s Mars program represents one of the agency’s greatest achievements. Why Mars analyzes the history of the robotic Mars exploration program from its origins to today. W. Henry Lambright examines the politics and policies behind NASA's multi-decade quest, illuminating the roles of key individuals and institutions along with their triumphs and defeats. Lambright outlines the ebbs and flows of policy evolution, focusing on critical points of change and factors that spurred strategic reorientation. He explains Mars exploration as a striking example of “big science” and describes the ways a powerful advocacy coalition—composed of NASA decision makers, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Mars academic science community, and many others—has influenced governmental decisions on Mars exploration, making it, at times, a national priority. The quest for Mars stretches over many years and involves billions of dollars. What does it take to mount and give coherence to a multi-mission, big science program? How do advocates and decision makers maintain goals and adapt their programs in the face of opposition and budgetary stringency? Where do they succeed in their strategies? Where do they fall short? Lambright’s insightful book suggests that from Mars exploration we can learn lessons that apply to other large-scale national endeavors in science and technology.
Fifty years after the founding of NASA, from 28 to 29 October 2008, the NASA History Division convened a conference whose purpose was a scholarly analysis of NASA's first 50 years. Over two days at NASA Headquarters, historians and policy analysts discussed NASA's role in aeronautics, human spaceflight, exploration, space science, life science, and Earth science, as well as crosscutting themes ranging from space access to international relations in space and NASA's interaction with the public. The speakers were asked to keep in mind the following questions: What are the lessons learned from the first 50 years? What is NASA's role in American culture and in the history of exploration and discovery? What if there had never been a NASA? Based on the past, does NASA have a future? The results of those papers, elaborated and fully referenced, are found in this 50th anniversary volume. The reader will find here, instantiated in the complex institution that is NASA, echoes of perennial themes elaborated in an earlier volume, Critical Issues in the History of Spaceflight. The conference culminated a year of celebrations, beginning with an October 2007 conference celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Space Age and including a lecture series, future forums, publications, a large presence at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and numerous activities at NASA's 10 Centers and venues around the country. It took place as the Apollo 40th anniversaries began, ironically still the most famous of NASA's achievements, even in the era of the Space Shuttle, International Space Station (ISS), and spacecraft like the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) and the Hubble Space Telescope. And it took place as NASA found itself at a major crossroads, for the first time in three decades transitioning, under Administrator Michael Griffin, from the Space Shuttle to a new Ares launch vehicle and Orion crew vehicle capable of returning humans to the Moon and proceeding to Mars in a program known as Constellation. The Space Shuttle, NASA's launch system since 1981, was scheduled to wind down in 2010, freeing up funds for the new Ares launch vehicle. But the latter, even if it moved forward at all deliberate speed, would not be ready until 2015, leaving the unsettling possibility that for at least five years the United States would be forced to use the Russian Soyuz launch vehicle and spacecraft as the sole access to the ISS in which the United States was the major partner. The presidential elections a week after the conference presaged an imminent presidential transition, from the Republican administration of George W. Bush to (as it turned out) the Democratic presidency of Barack Obama, with all the uncertainties that such transitions imply for government programs. The uncertainties for NASA were even greater, as Michael Griffin departed with the outgoing administration and as the world found itself in an unprecedented global economic downturn, with the benefits of national space programs questioned more than ever before. There was no doubt that 50 years of the Space Age had altered humanity in numerous ways ranging from applications satellites to philosophical world views. Throughout its 50 years, NASA has been fortunate to have a strong sense of history and a robust, independent, and objective history program to document its achievements and analyze its activities. Among its flagship publications are Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in the History of the U.S. Civil Space Program, of which seven of eight projected volumes were completed at the time of the 50th anniversary. The reader can do no better than to turn to these volumes for an introduction to NASA history as seen through its primary documents. The list of NASA publications at the end of this volume is also a testimony to the tremendous amount of historical research that the NASA History Division has sponsored over the last 50 years, of which this is the latest volume.
Agencies participating in the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) continue to advance a long-range international exploration strategy that begins with the International Space Station (ISS) and expands human presence in the solar system, leading ultimately to human missions to explore the surface of Mars.The Global Exploration Roadmap, first released in September 2011, has been updated in August 2013 to reflect updated agency plans and programmes as well as continue to facilitate stakeholder engagement in the effort to chart an international roadmap to Mars. Figures. This is a print on demand report.
