This book is a compilation of scientific papers presented at a July 1991 conference which was scheduled to coincide with the 15th anniversary of the unmanned Viking landing on the planet Mars. The conference was planned to cover past, present and future missions to Mars, with the papers of past missions serving as an historic scientific base, and papers of the future missions to Mars serving as the main focus of the conference. Chapters are grouped into six sections: overviews, prior missions, rationale and benefits of future missions, robotic missions, systems concepts and operations, and technology for future missions.

Annotation This text synthesizes a wealth of useful information for analyzing random vibrations and structures into one coherent body of knowledge. It takes a practical yet progressive look at two major fields related to random analysis: linear and geometrically nonlinear structures, and the behavior of random structures under random loads. System harmonics and oscillations, random functions, and the theory of random vibration are covered extensively throughout the text, which includes innovative methods for calculating the probability of failure for dynamic systems. Simplified examples demonstrate applications for daily use and present new approaches to failure analysis. The author evaluates the use of random process methods for the stochastic analysis of crack growth in detail, providing a better description of failures resulting from crack propagation. For young engineers, the book touches on finite element programs such as ANSYS and the probabilistic analysis program PROBAN, facilitating solutions to more complex problems. It also illustrates how to write a FORTRAN program to build a numerical procedure suitable for the design needs.