The Depths of Space: The Story of the Pioneer Planetary Probes (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The interplanetary space probes Pioneer 10 and 11 are probably best remembered for the gold calling cards on their sides inscribed with a "We Are Here" map of the Earth and, most controversially, a naked man and woman. But the accomplishments of these probes are remarkable, as journalist Wolverton recounts in this history of the amazing miniprobes that ran on old-fashioned computer logic switches. The team at Ames Space Center didn't know whether Pioneer 10 would even survive its crossing of the asteroid belt, but a final, faint tweet was received from the spacecraft nearly 30 years later, in January 2003, on its way to some distant solar system. Pioneer 11, shot like a stone from a slingshot by Jupiter's gravity, went on to a rendezvous with Saturn, where it made its way through the planet's ring system, narrowly escaping collision with a fast-moving moon it had just discovered. The last Pioneer mission, Pioneer Venus, stayed a little closer to home, dropping probes onto the surface of Venus. Wolverton conveys the intense competition within NASA as scientists at Ames jockeyed with other space centers, first to run the Pioneer projects, then to get the valuable allocation of radio antenna time to answer the crafts' ever fainter signals. Project managers under the legendary Charlie Hall proved the success of the "Faster, better, cheaper" mantra before it became a NASA catch phrase. Space buffs will revel in this well-told tale of the little space probes that could. B&w photos.
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Review

"...an excellent job describing the history of the Pioneer program in a manner that is detailed yet accessible..." -- Sky & Telescope, September 2004

"An excellent job describing the history of the Pioneer program in a manner that is accessible to the casual reader." -- The Space Review, August 9, 2004

"An informed and informative historical overview of the Pioneer space probe mission program... Superbly written." -- The Bookwatch, September 2004

"Extraordinarily well written. ... Engaging. ... An absolute 'must read' for any one interested in the development of NASA's unmanned space program." -- Science Books and Films, Nov/Dec 2004

"Refreshing insight into the science and the politics of the Pioneer space probes." -- Universe Today, Sept. 14, 2004

"[A] gripping account ... Highly recommended for space-age history buffs." -- CHOICE, November 2004

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Joseph Henry Press; 1 edition (December 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0309090504
• ISBN-13: 978-0309090506
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #551,130 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice book, emphasizing the human factor, October 17, 2004

By	P. Lemmens (Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This is a great book on NASA's Pioneer project (not only the well-known - though already half-forgotten - Pioneer 10 and 11 missions to Jupiter and Saturn, but the whole series, including the highly successful 1978 mission to Venus). Very well written and researched, by a very talented young author, who's definitely in love with his subject. As the foreword of astronomer James van Allen states correctly, this book is first of all `a tale of human achievement', i.e. the emphasis of this book is very much on the project as such and on the people that made it possible (and how they did it). Wolverton does pay substantial attention to technical issues and to the scientific results of the various missions, it's true, but I would have preferred him going into more detail on all these things, providing more data and explaining more of the scientific achievements. To my tastes, he spends too much time discussing `the human factor' and the adventure side of it. But then again, this is the book's explicit `mission'. It just wasn't exactly what I expected, although I enjoyed it very much (especially the story about the controversy around the famous plaque with the naked couple on it, and on the old DEC PDP 11-14 `mini-`computer that was still being used in 2000 to communicate with Pioneer 10). So, this book is highly recommended and a Must for space buffs. It's also a very beautiful book, solid and robust. It's a bit of a pity that the - not too many - photographs and pictures are all in black-and-white. You can look into the book (all of the pages, and with color pictures!!!) on the publisher's website.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book on an interesting topic, November 14, 2004

By	Kenneth P. Katz (Kansas, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Pioneer missions were important milestones in the exploration of space. The book is a nice, concise and well-written history of the Pioneer program, from the early and unsuccessful probes flown by the military in the immediate post-Sputnik era to the trail-blazing missions to Jupiter, Saturn and Venus. All of the book was interesting, but I thought that the story of how Ames Research Center got involved in deep space exploration, the maneuvering to get access to the Deep Space Network, and the continued gathering of data from Pioneers 10 and 11 long after their primary missions ended to be particularly interesting and never before told. I wish that the book had been a little longer, with some more detail about the spacecraft and their scientific findings. Also the meager selection of small black and white photos is inadequate. But those are minor points and this book is a must-have if the subject interests you.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative historical overview of the Pioneer space probe, September 8, 2004

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

The Depths Of Space: The Story Of The Pioneer Planetary Probes by by author and NASA expert Mark Wolverton provides the reader with an informed and informative historical overview of the Pioneer space probe mission program that saw the first mission launched in August 17, 1958 that had the misfortune to blow up 77 seconds into lift off. But every failure was a learning experience and subsequent missions ventured to probe the sun, go beyond the asteroid belt, went on to Jupiter, Saturn, and finally out of the solar system and on to the stars. Superbly written, The Depths Of Space is a seminal and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal and community library Space Exploration History reading lists and reference shelves.