Mars: The NASA Mission Reports Vol 2: Apogee Books Space Series 44 [Paperback]

Robert Godwin (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2004 | Series: Apogee Books Space Series

The exploration of Mars is brought up to date with this collection of the latest results from the Mars Exploration Rovers, and the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey missions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...As a source of data and illustrative materials it is quite comprehensive and up to date... The DVD alone is worth the price of the book..." Richard Taylor, Spaceflight, September 2004. "If you're even slightly interested in astronomy, you'll be fascinated by what's here... " -- Nick Chang, Focus, August 2004. "This latest volume brings the exploration of Mars up to date..." -- Spaceflight, September 2004. "[an] impressive package..." -- The Observatory, June 2005. Also reviewed in Telescopium, Journal of the Swedish Astronomical Society.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc. (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1894959051
• ISBN-13: 978-1894959056
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 6.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #558,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Astronomy & Space Science > Mars

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine collection of Mars papers, August 4, 2004

By 

R. Zubrin (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mars: The NASA Mission Reports Vol 2: Apogee Books Space Series 44 (Paperback)

Mars NASA Mission Reports Volume 2
Review by Robert Zubrin, President Mars Society

Once again the team at Apogee Books have produced a well timed book about the recent and current Mars Missions. Following on from their best selling Mars NASA Mission Reports Volume One, which included all missions up to and including the failed Polar Lander and Climate Observer missions of 1999 the new Volume continues the more successful missions since that dark year including data transmitted back from the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity.

It is possible to find much of the contents of the book on the NASA websites, however this book puts everything into one easy to use reference and easy to carry paper database. As usual the book includes a DVD which in this case is a double sided disc including many videos, photographs, interviews with the major JPL team managers and much more. I found one question asked of Steve Squyres particularly interesting; when asked by Godwin what he could do that the rover could not if he was able to stand at Meridiani Planum; his answer...well the answer was poignant, you be the judge. Another interesting item from the vaults is a rare 1975 video lecture by Von Braun about Humans to Mars. Where do they find this stuff?

In all a fine addition to any Mars collection.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars We're on Mars - Now what?, June 16, 2006

By 

J. Page "tdrss" (Southwest USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mars: The NASA Mission Reports Vol 2: Apogee Books Space Series 44 (Paperback)

Mars: The NASA Mission Reports Vol 2 is another welcome addition to any die-hard Mars lover's library. The format is the same for almost all Apogee Mission Reports - fact sheets and press kits from NASA. The data and the color inserts do the book justice.

On the downside, the status reports concerning the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) get very tiring to read. Similar to 'keep-alive' packets sent by idle computers on the Internet, the reports give frequent updates to the status of the rovers - while sometimes interesting, its very hard to see 'big-picture' science without more analysis (something that wouldn't be in a mission press kit or an Apogee Mission Report book).

The inclusion of a DVD was another surprise - since the data sent back by the two MERs is hefty, more storage space was needed. The DVD might be worth the cost of the book, but I love those introductory mission press kits stating the statistics of the machines and the overview of its mission...

Again, if you have a Mars Library started, add this to your collection!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GOT TO GET THIS ONE, September 18, 2004

By 

MATTHEW BLACK "MATT BLACK" (Auckland, New Zealand.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mars: The NASA Mission Reports Vol 2: Apogee Books Space Series 44 (Paperback)

My thanks to Robert Zubrin for his review. Because of the Von Braun video lecture, I'm going to order this fine Apogee title straight away. By the way, thanks to Mr. Zubrin and his colleagues for everything they've done to push the cause of Man On Mars. It amazes me that about once a decade, mankind can find hundreds of billions of dollars to fight wars, yet will not spend much more on our important future in the new frontier.

Here's hoping that a consortium of Paul Allen-type people in future can get us to our sister world. If we relied solely on taxpayer funded missions it would take decades. And I'm not getting any younger.

Thanks again, Mr. Zubrin.