The Depths of Space: the Story of the Pioneer Planetary Probes.

THE DEPTHS OF SPACE: The StOry of the Pioneer Planetary Probes MARK WOLVERTON

Human space flight generates heroes and is the stuff of which movies are made. Robotic spacecraft, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the Cassini satellite now orbiting Saturn, also have a knack for thrilling the public. Even so, Wolverton identifies the dozen or so Pioneer space probes as some of the most important engines of knowledge that were ever sent into space. These spacecraft have uncovered pivotal information about our own solar system and even regions beyond. While the first Pioneer blew up shortly after its 1958 launch and the next three didn't meet their main goal of photographing the surface of the moon, they did provide valuable information about the Van Allen radiation belts. But because each Pioneer was built faster, better, and cheaper according to lessons learned from its predecessor, the program began to rack up a lot of firsts. Pioneer 4, launched in 1959, was the first U.S. spacecraft to orbit the sun. Pioneer 10, launched in 1972, became the first spacecraft to fly by Jupiter and travel through the asteroid belt. It's now speeding silently from the outer reaches of the solar system. Wolverton documents how time and time again these missions achieved far more information for far less money than anyone could have imagined and in the process launched an era of space exploration. Joseph Henry Pr, 2004, 249 p., b&w photos, hardcover, $24.95.