Description
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 Science
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements
Introduction
1. Planetary Observers, Mars Observer
2. Politics and Engineering on the Martian Frontier
3. Attack of the Great Galactic Ghoul
4. Engineering for Uncertainty
5. Mars Mania
6. The Faster-Better-Cheaper Future
7. Revenge of the Great Galactic Ghoul
8. Recovery and Reform
9. Margins on the Final Frontier
10. Sending a Spy Satellite to Mars
11. Robotic Geologists on the Red Planet
12. Reengineering a Spacecraft, and a Program
Conclusion
Epilogue
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index
