Robotic Exploration of the Solar System Part 3: Wows and Woes, 1997-2003

Paolo Ulivi and David Harland provide in Robotic Exploration of the Solar System a detailed history of unmanned missions of exploration of our Solar System As in their previous book Lunar Exploration, the subject will be treated wherever possible from an engineering and scientific standpoint. Technical descriptions of the spacecraft, of their mission designs and of instrumentations will be provided. Scientific results will be discussed in considerable depth, together with details of mission management.

The books will cover missions from the 1950s until the present day, and some of the latest missions and their results will appear in a popular science book for the first time. The authors will also cover many unflown projects, providing an indication of the ideas that proved to be unfulfilled at the time but which may still be proven and useful in the future.

Just like Lunar Exploration, these books will use sources only recently made available on the Soviet space program, in addition to some obscure and rarely used references on the European space program.

The project will deliver three volumes totaling over 1000 pages that will provide comprehensive coverage of the topic with thousands of references to the professional literature that should make it the 'first port of call' for people seeking information on the topic.