The initial concepts for sending spacecraft to Mars to grab samples for return to Earth date back to the 1970s, but were deemed infeasible.
One chapter, for example, looks at the long history of Mars sample return. The chapters examine a range of topics in solar system exploration: not a comprehensive look at everything, but instead detailed studies of selected topics. Missions rise and fall based on executive and legislative branch support and the ability to gain and retain international partners. This is not a book about the science of those missions, but how the science gets done-or sometimes doesn’t get done. The 12 papers examine various technical, political, and organizational issues about NASA’s robotic solar system exploration efforts, from the Moon to the outer solar system. The book may have had a long gestation period, but it’s worth the wait. Next year will mark the 60th anniversary of that mission. That conference took place in 2012, or nine years ago.
The book stems from a conference to mark the 50th anniversary of NASA’s first mission to another planet, the Mariner 2 flyby of Venus in 1962. NASA released earlier this month 50 Years of Solar System Exploration, a collection of essays on various topics of NASA’s planetary science program. Even books about space projects can take time to complete. Some projects take a while: ask those involved with the James Webb Space Telescope, finally launching later this week (barring any last-minute issues) after many years of delays. 50 Years of Solar System Exploration: Historical Perspectives
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