This book offers readers essential insights into system design for deep space probes and describes key aspects such as system design, orbit design, telecommunication, GNC, thermal control, propulsion, aerobraking and scientific payload. Each chapter includes the basic principles, requirements analysis, procedures, equations and diagrams, as well as practical examples that will help readers to understand the research on each technology and the major concerns when it comes to developing deep space probes. An excellent reference resource for researchers and engineers interested in deep space exploration, it can also serve as a textbook for university students and those at institutes involved in aerospace.

This is a completely updated and revised version of a monograph published in 2002 by the NASA History Office under the original title Deep Space Chronicle: A Chronology of Deep Space and Planetary Probes, 1958-2000. This new edition not only adds all events in robotic deep space exploration after 2000 and up to the end of 2016, but it also completely corrects and updates all accounts of missions from 1958 to 2000--Provided by publisher.

The Space Age is nearly 50 years old but exploration of the outer planets and beyond has only just begun. Deep-Space Probes Second Edition draws on the latest research to explain why we should explore beyond the edge of the Solar System and how we can build highly sophisticated robot spacecraft to make the journey. Many technical problems remain to be solved, among them propulsion systems to permit far higher velocities, and technologies to build vehicles a fraction of the size of today’s spacecraft. Beyond the range of effective radio control, robot vehicles for exploring deep space will need to be intelligent, ‘thinking’ craft – able to make vital decisions entirely on their own. Gregory Matloff also looks at the possibility for human travel into interstellar space, and some of the immense problems that such journeys would entail. This second edition includes an entirely new chapter on holographic message plaques for future interstellar probes – a NASA-funded project.

Primitive Meteorites and Asteroids: Physical, Chemical, and Spectroscopic Observations Paving the Way to Exploration covers the physical, chemical and spectroscopic aspects of asteroids, providing important data and research on carbonaceous chondrites and primitive meteorites. This information is crucial to the success of missions to parent bodies, thus contributing to an understanding of the early solar system. The book offers an interdisciplinary perspective relevant to many fields of planetary science, as well as cosmochemistry, planetary astronomy, astrobiology, geology and space engineering. Including contributions from planetary and missions scientists worldwide, the book collects the fundamental knowledge and cutting-edge research on carbonaceous chondrites and their parent bodies into one accessible resource, thus contributing to the future of space exploration. - Presents the most current data and information on the mission-relevant characteristics of primitive asteroids - Addresses the physical, chemical and spectral characteristics of carbonaceous chondritic meteorites and the bearings on successful exploration of their parent asteroids - Includes chapters on geotechnical properties and resource extraction

Extreme Events in Geospace: Origins, Predictability, and Consequences helps deepen the understanding, description, and forecasting of the complex and inter-related phenomena of extreme space weather events. Composed of chapters written by representatives from many different institutions and fields of space research, the book offers discussions ranging from definitions and historical knowledge to operational issues and methods of analysis. Given that extremes in ionizing radiation, ionospheric irregularities, and geomagnetically induced currents may have the potential to disrupt our technologies or pose danger to human health, it is increasingly important to synthesize the information available on not only those consequences but also the origins and predictability of such events. Extreme Events in Geospace: Origins, Predictability, and Consequences is a valuable source for providing the latest research for geophysicists and space weather scientists, as well as industries impacted by space weather events, including GNSS satellites and radio communication, power grids, aviation, and human spaceflight. The list of first/second authors includes M. Hapgood, N. Gopalswamy, K.D. Leka, G. Barnes, Yu. Yermolaev, P. Riley, S. Sharma, G. Lakhina, B. Tsurutani, C. Ngwira, A. Pulkkinen, J. Love, P. Bedrosian, N. Buzulukova, M. Sitnov, W. Denig, M. Panasyuk, R. Hajra, D. Ferguson, S. Lai, L. Narici, K. Tobiska, G. Gapirov, A. Mannucci, T. Fuller-Rowell, X. Yue, G. Crowley, R. Redmon, V. Airapetian, D. Boteler, M. MacAlester, S. Worman, D. Neudegg, and M. Ishii. - Helps to define extremes in space weather and describes existing methods of analysis - Discusses current scientific understanding of these events and outlines future challenges - Considers the ways in which space weather may affect daily life - Demonstrates deep connections between astrophysics, heliophysics, and space weather applications, including a discussion of extreme space weather events from the past - Examines national and space policy issues concerning space weather in Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States

In recent years, planetary science has seen a tremendous growth in new knowledge. Deposits of water ice exist at the Moon's poles. Discoveries on the surface of Mars point to an early warm wet climate, and perhaps conditions under which life could have emerged. Liquid methane rain falls on Saturn's moon Titan, creating rivers, lakes, and geologic landscapes with uncanny resemblances to Earth's. Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022 surveys the current state of knowledge of the solar system and recommends a suite of planetary science flagship missions for the decade 2013-2022 that could provide a steady stream of important new discoveries about the solar system. Research priorities defined in the report were selected through a rigorous review that included input from five expert panels. NASA's highest priority large mission should be the Mars Astrobiology Explorer Cacher (MAX-C), a mission to Mars that could help determine whether the planet ever supported life and could also help answer questions about its geologic and climatic history. Other projects should include a mission to Jupiter's icy moon Europa and its subsurface ocean, and the Uranus Orbiter and Probe mission to investigate that planet's interior structure, atmosphere, and composition. For medium-size missions, Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022 recommends that NASA select two new missions to be included in its New Frontiers program, which explores the solar system with frequent, mid-size spacecraft missions. If NASA cannot stay within budget for any of these proposed flagship projects, it should focus on smaller, less expensive missions first. Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022 suggests that the National Science Foundation expand its funding for existing laboratories and establish new facilities as needed. It also recommends that the program enlist the participation of international partners. This report is a vital resource for government agencies supporting space science, the planetary science community, and the public.

Welcome to the new space economy... Space is open for business! The dawn of a new space race led by private sector entrepreneurs is upon us thanks to the USA Space Act 2015 and technology advances like SpaceX rockets, which have greatly reduced the cost of space flight. For the first time in history, the advances in both technical and legal infrastructure have opened up exciting opportunities that are already driving the commercial exploration of deep space commodities, Space tourism with Virgin Galactic, and the serious planning for the colonisation of our Moon and Mars. Tom James, a leading commodity and energy market practitioner and author, has brought together top professionals in academia, astropolitics, space engineering, and space law to explore the exciting opportunities and challenges businesses face in the new off-planet economy. With quadrillions of dollars of mineral wealth and frozen water within our reach, the stakes may be high, but so are the rewards. So pack your bags, fasten your oxygen mask and let’s get ready to boldly take business where business has not gone before...

The technology of the next few decades could possibly allow us to explore with robotic probes the closest stars outside our Solar System, and maybe even observe some of the recently discovered planets circling these stars. This book looks at the reasons for exploring our stellar neighbors and at the technologies we are developing to build space probes that can traverse the enormous distances between the stars. In order to reach the nearest stars, we must first develop a propulsion technology that would take our robotic probes there in a reasonable time. Such propulsion technology has radically different requirements from conventional chemical rockets, because of the enormous distances that must be crossed. Surprisingly, many propulsion schemes for interstellar travel have been suggested and await only practical engineering solutions and the political will to make them a reality. This is a result of the tremendous advances in astrophysics that have been made in recent decades and the perseverance and imagination of tenacious theoretical physicists. This book explores these different propulsion schemes – all based on current physics – and the challenges they present to physicists, engineers, and space exploration entrepreneurs. This book will be helpful to anyone who really wants to understand the principles behind and likely future course of interstellar travel and who wants to recognizes the distinctions between pure fantasy (such as Star Trek’s ‘warp drive’) and methods that are grounded in real physics and offer practical technological solutions for exploring the stars in the decades to come.

Many books have covered the rapidly evolving fields of information and communication technology (ICT) and space technology separately. However, no single book has ever focused on how the integration of these two areas is creating a stronger platform for various scientific advancements—including some research work that cannot be performed on Earth. To fill the void, Information, Communication, and Space Technology provides a novel illustration of that connection. Dividing content into sections that cover ICT, existing and future space technologies, and satellites, the author demonstrates the individual and combined power of each of these parts of the overall system. He explores how the combination of concepts from each of these interrelated fields is creating massive potential for broader advances in areas such as robotics, communications, navigation, agriculture, health care, and nanotechnology. The book introduces particular potential innovations, including "rocket-less" spacecraft launches, and development of a global system to balance energy distribution by using satellites that would collect solar energy and transmit it via microwave beams to different locations around the world. Equally useful to students and professionals, this work is a culmination of the domestic and international experience that the author has acquired throughout more than three decades as an instructor and researcher. Emphasizing the strong need to incorporate ICT and space technology into the general university curriculum, the book starts with basic explanations of key concepts and theories, building toward more concrete, application-oriented examples that reveal the importance and impact of new technologies. This includes coverage of how satellites transfer voice, video, and other data across continents, as well as techniques used to obtain very-high-resolution images from space for use in agricultural and environmental sciences.This timely work employs a logical, practically structured approach that will help readers to better understand existing and emerging ICT and space technologies, including the most recent developments and achievements in the field.