Space science Books

Book SynopsisConway, JPL's historian, offers an insider's perspective into the changing goals of Mars exploration, the ways in which sophisticated computer simulations drove the design process, and the remarkable evolution of landing technologies over a thirty-year period.Trade ReviewA masterpiece of research and writing. Quest: History of Spaceflight Quarterly A 'must' for any reader of modern astronomy who wants insights into how the lab conducts its research, solves problems, and handle[s] technological challenges. Midwest Book Review A great tale of ambition, mishap and recovery, building on extensive archival research and interviews with JPL managers, scientists and engineers, to deliver a detailed overview of each mission's feats and failures... Exploration and Engineering is a great book for everyone seriously interested in the struggles and achievements of JPL as NASA's centre for Mars exploration. Sky at Night According to Conway, there is a 'disconnect' between the desire to travel into space and the desire to understand it. This 'disconnect' is a more fundamental difficulty for NASA than decades' worth of budget cuts. It's a contradiction that's built into the agency's structure, which includes a human exploration program on the one hand and a scientific program on the other... Conway puts himself on the side of science, and, as far as he's concerned, humans are the wrong stuff. They shouldn't even be trying to get to another planet. Not only are they fragile, demanding, and expensive to ship; they're a mess. New Yorker Will be appreciated by space enthusiasts, especially those interested in the perennial NASA battle over whether to fund unmanned science probes or human spaceflight. Choice This book is a must-read in the history of space exploration. Students of engineering, management, and history of technology will find much to enjoy in this virtual tour behind the scenes of some of NASA's most famous and evocative missions. Metascience A detailed book, Exploration and Engineering is a necessary read for anyon ewho wants to know about how space exploration becomes possible, useful to those studying the evolution and transmission of engineering knowledge, British Journal for the History of ScienceTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroduction1. Planetary Observers, Mars Observer2. Politics and Engineering on the Martian Frontier3. Attack of the Great Galactic Ghoul4. Engineering for Uncertainty5. Mars Mania6. The Faster-Better-Cheaper Future7. Revenge of the Great Galactic Ghoul8. Recovery and Reform9. Margins on the Final Frontier10. Sending a Spy Satellite to Mars11. Robotic Geologists on the Red Planet12. Reengineering a Spacecraft, and a ProgramConclusionEpilogueAppendixNotesBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisUltimate quick reference guide for any earthling's questions about our solar system, whether a student, lover of all things space, or stargazing and night sky enthusiasts. Beautifully designed with images from NASA and expertly written by science author, consultant and professor John Roch, PhD who includes more facts per page than any book or website. This 6 page laminated guide will last a lifetime so you will always know what the surface temperature of Mercury is, how many known satellites Neptune has, what the Kuiper Belt is, or what other dwarf planets there are besides Pluto? 6-page laminated guide includes: Solar System Breakdown Essential Terms Space Missions Listed for Each Object & Planet Below Sun Mercury Venus Earth Moon Mars Asteroid Belt Ceres Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Kuiper Belt Pluto Haumea Makemake Eris More Solar System Facts

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Ptolemaic system of the universe, with the earth at the center, had held sway since antiquity as authoritative in philosophy, science, and church teaching. Following his observations of the heavenly bodies, Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) abandoned the geocentric system for a heliocentric model, with the sun at the center. His remarkable work, On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres, stands as one of the greatest intellectual revolutions of all time, and profoundly influenced, among others, Galileo and Sir Isaac Newton.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe brilliant German mathematician Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), one of the founders of modern astronomy, revolutionized the Copernican heliocentric theory of the universe with his three laws of motion: that the planets move not in circular but elliptical orbits, that their speed is greatest when nearest the sun, and that the sun and planets form an integrated system. This volume contains two of his most important works: The Epitome of Copernican Astronomy (books 4 and 5 of which are translated here) is a textbook of Copernican science, remarkable for the prominence given to physical astronomy and for the extension to the Jovian system of the laws recently discovered to regulate the motions of the Planets. Harmonies of the World (book 5 of which is translated here) expounds an elaborate system of celestial harmonies depending on the varying velocities of the planets.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis"We choose to go to the Moon, not because it is easy but because it is hard." President John F. Kennedy's words spoke of an American enterprise that rivalled, and echoed, that of the discovery and settling of his own country a century before. At the height of the Cold War between America and Russia, hundreds of spacecraft, both manned and robotic, travelled into outer space - the New Frontier. They sent back awe-inspiring images and sounds from Earth orbit, the Moon, and the planets of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus; they also overturned our preconceptions about our own planet. "Live from the Moon" is the exploratory story of this remarkable cultural and political phenomenon. Expert and enthusiast Mike Allen examines these images sent back from space, their use as propaganda, their value as drama and entertainment, and their spiritual role in shaping humanity's changing view of itself across the second half of the twentieth century. He looks at the complex relationship between space exploration, film and television during these decades to show the synergy between them in pushing forward the frontiers not only of our knowledge of the Universe, but of our need to visualise the furthest reaches of our imaginations in order to fully know what it is to be human.Trade Review'A fascinating, comprehensive and lively account of how we got those history-changing pictures. Allen takes us behind closed doors to reveal what even those of us involved at the time never knew. A must read.' - James BurkeTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Imagining Spaceflight 2. NASA-wood U.S.A. 3. All Around the World: the Development of Earth-orbiting Satellites 4. To Robotically Go Where No Man Had Gone Before: Interplanetary Satellites and Probes 5. Heroes and Ideologies: Mercury and Vostok 6. Upping the Orbital Ante: Gemini and Voskhod 7. "In the Lovely Apollo Room, High Atop Everything": Apollos 7-10 8. One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Propaganda: Apollo 11 9. Failure Was Not an Option...But Almost a Reality: Apollos 12-14 10. Celestial Geologists: Serious Science and Public Complacency - the Final Apollo missions Coda: Hands Across the Globe - The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Endnote: Some of Our Apollo 11 Footage in Missing?

Read more less