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Beginning in the early days of the Space Age - well before the advent of manned spaceflight - the United States, followed soon by other nations, undertook an ambitious effort to study the planets of the solar system. The remarkable fruits of this research revolutionized the public´s view of their celestial neighbors, capturing the imaginations of people from all backgrounds like nothing else save the Apollo lunar missions. From the first space probes to the most recent planetary rovers, they have continually delivered impressive discoveries and reshaped our understanding of the cosmos. Offering fascinating investigations into this crucial chapter in space history, this collection of specially commissioned essays from leading historians opens new vistas in our understanding of the development of planetary science.

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PART I: MANAGING PLANETARY SCIENCE Homer Newell and the Origins of Planetary Science in the United States; J.D.Ruley The Survival Crisis of the U.S. Solar System Exploration Program; J.M.Logsdon Faster, Better, Cheaper: A Sociotechnical Perspective on Programmatic Choice, Success, and Failure in NASA´s Solar System Exploration Program; A.P.Kaminski PART II: DEVELOPING NEW APPROACHES TO PLANETARY EXPLORATION Redefining Celestial Mechanics in the Space Age: Astronomy, Astrodynamics, Deep-Space Navigation, and the Pursuit of Accuracy; A.J.Butrica Big Science in Space: Viking, Cassini, and the Hubble Space Telescope; W.H.Lambright Visual Imagery in Solar System Exploration; P.J.Westwick Returning Scientific Data to Earth: The Parallel but Unequal Careers of Genesis and Stardust and the Problem of Sample Return to Earth; R.D.Launius PART III: EXPLORING THE TERRESTRIAL PLANETS Planetary Science and the ´Discovery´ of Global Warming; E.M.Conway Exploring Planet Earth: The Development of Satellite Remote Sensing for Earth Science; A.K.Johnston Venus-Earth-Mars: Comparative Climatology and the Search for Life in the Solar System; R.D.Launius Missions to Mars: Reimagining the Red Planet in the Age of Spaceflight; R.Markley PART IV: UNVEILING THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM Parachuting onto Another World: The EuropeAn Space Agency´s Huygens Mission to Titan; A.Russo Pluto: The Problem Planet and its Scientists; D.A.DeVorkin Transcendence and Meaning in Solar System Exploration; W.E.Burrows

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WILLIAM E. BURROWS New York University, USA ANDREW J. BUTRICA Independent Scholar ERIK M. CONWAY Jet Propulsion Laboratory DAVID A. DEVORKIN Smithsonian Institution, USA ANDREW K. JOHNSTON Smithsonian Institution, USA AMY PAIGE KAMINSKI NASA Headquarters, USA W. HENRY LAMBWRIGHT Syracuse University, USA JOHN M. LOGSDON George Washington University, USA ROBERT MARKLEY University of Illinois, USA JOHN D. RULEY Indepdent Scholar ARTURO RUSSO University of Palermo, Italy PETER J. WESTWICK The Huntington Library, USA

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