| Description |
xix, 715 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Summary |
"A leading historian of astronomy and a leading planetary scientist who works at the forefront of space exploration provide a comprehensive history of the solar system's most alluring planet beyond Earth. William Sheehan and Jim Bell chronicle how ancient watchers of the skies attended to Mars's red color and baffling movements, how three and a half centuries of telescopic observations added vistas and controversies around possible seas and continents and canals, and how the current era of exploration by flyby, orbiter, lander, and rover spacecraft have conjured for us the reality of a world of towering shield volcanoes, vast canyons, ancient dry riverbeds-and even possible evidence of past life. A unique collaboration between two authors on the forefront of Mars explorations, past and future, Discovering Mars provides an ambitious, detailed, and evocative account of humanity's enduring fascination with the Red Planet"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Contents |
Wanderers and wonderers -- The warfare with Mars -- The first telescopic reconnaissance -- Mappers of strange lands and seas -- Mars above the dreaming spires -- The moons of Mars -- A tale of two observers -- Mars in the Gilded Age -- The rise and fall of the canals -- The Martian sublime -- Marsniks and flyby mariners: the 1960s -- A Martian epic: Mariner 9 -- Vikings invade the Red Planet: 1976-1980 -- A sedimentary planet -- Baby steps: back to the surface with pathfinder -- Mineral mappers -- Living on Mars with spirit, opportunity, and Phoenix -- Mountain climbing with curiosity -- Atmospheric explorers -- Shooting the Moon(s): spacecraft exploration of Phobos and Deimos -- Ongoing and upcoming missions: the 2020s -- Our future Mars. |
| Subject |
Mars (Planet) -- Exploration.
|
|
Planets -- Exploration.
(OCoLC)fst01065139
|
|
Mars (Planet) (OCoLC)fst01243063
|
| Added Author |
Bell, Jim, 1965- author. Author.
|
| ISBN |
9780816532100 (hardcover) |
|
0816532109 (hardcover) |
|
9780816544240 electronic book |
| Standard No. |
40030827077 |
|
