NASA's official history chronicles the start of our explorations of our planetary neighbor. It recounts cooperation among government, industry, and academia, and it features dozens of photos from Viking cameras.
Read More
NASA's official history chronicles the start of our explorations of our planetary neighbor. It recounts cooperation among government, industry, and academia, and it features dozens of photos from Viking cameras.
Read Less
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. xviii, [2], 535, [5] pages. Includes Epilogue, 7 Appendixes, Bibliographic Essay, Errata, Source Notes, Index, Authors, List of NASA Photography Numbers, and 55 Tables. Cover has some wear and soiling. This is an unabridged and slightly corrected republication of NASA SP-4212. A new Introduction by Paul Dickson has been added to this edition. Edward Clinton Ezell (7 Nov 1939, Indianapolis, Indiana-23 Dec 1993, Northern Virginia) was an American author and professor who served as National Firearms Collection curator at the National Museum of American History, administered by the Smithsonian Institution. He was also founding Director of the Institute for Research on Small Arms in International Security. Prior to his stint with the Smithsonian Institution, Ezell was employed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, to write about space projects. Publications include "The Partnership", a history of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and "On Mars: Exploration of the Red Planet". This book is a history about the events surrounding the Viking project. It is the official history because it was commissioned and paid for by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The authors began work shortly before Viking was scheduled to land on 4 July 1976, and they were present in Pasadena while Jim Martin and his team searched for a landing site. Exposure to the site selection process allowed them to see key project personnel at work and begin to understand the many complexities of Viking. They concluded that, to appreciate fully the accomplishments of the project, readers should be exposed to the Mariner flights to Mars and to other planned missions to send landers to another planet. In ignoring certain aspects or in describing others only briefly, the authors had not intended to slight other important aspects of the Viking effort. There were just too many stories and too many participants for them all to be included in this single volume.
Edition:
Republication of original NASA 1984 publication
Publisher:
Dover Publications
Published:
2009
Language:
English
Alibris ID:
14125203806
Shipping Options:
Standard Shipping: $4.63
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. xviii, [2], 535, [5] pages. Illustrations. Tables. Bibliographic Essay. Errata. Source Notes. Index. 9.25 inches by 6.75 inches and about 1 inch wide--slightly larger format than many other books. Cover has slight wear and soiling. This Dover edition, first published in 2009, is an unabridged and slightly corrected republication of the work originally published in Washington in 1984 in the NASA History Series as NASA SP-4212 under the title On Mars: Exploration of the Red Planet 1958-1978. The color photos originally on pages 385 to 388 can now be found between pages 364 and 365 in the Dover edition. A new Introduction by Paul Dickson has been added to this edition. Although it was only designed for a ninety-day surface mission, the Viking 1 lander ultimately transmitted science messages to Earth for seven years. This authoritative history chronicles the remarkable achievements of the Viking program during its first three decades. Commissioned by NASA, it recounts the events surrounding the first planetary landing on Earth's closest neighbor and the first on-site search for evidence of extraterrestrial life. It also portrays a human drama in which thousands of professionals from government, industry, and academia joined together to accomplish the seemingly impossible. This history begins with a survey of the qualities that make the surface and atmosphere of Mars prime targets for scientific investigation. A retrospective of NASA's Mariner program follows, detailing the series of robotic interplanetary probes that led to the initiation of the Viking program in 1968. The authors trace the ensuing technological developments, including the first lander vehicles and orbiter. They also profile the cooperation of managerial, technical, and scientific teams during the mission's data-gathering and analysis phases. The final chapters outline the scientific results of the Viking investigations, examine some of the unresolved questions, and consider possible future explorations. Dozens of photos taken by Viking cameras illuminate the text.
