Visions of Mars [Paperback]

Olivier de Goursac (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0810992108 | ISBN-13: 978-0810992108 | Publication Date: June 14, 2005

Visions of Mars offers a visual tour of the main geographic features of Mars as they have been recorded by twenty years of remote-sensing missions, ranging from the Viking orbiter/lander of the late 1970s through the Pathfinder orbiter/rover of the mid-1990s and up to the twin rover missions of today. The survey is driven by images, many of which have never been seen before, which introduce the reader to the plains, volcanoes, chasms, lake beds, and polar regions of the red planet. A final section summarizes the basic data that have been gathered about the planet, comparing Earth and Mars.

Editorial Reviews

From Scientific American

Space-imaging specialist de Goursac pre-sents a selection of photographs of the Red Planet: windswept plains, fields of giant dunes, deep canyons, the highest mountains in the solar system, polar ice caps. Drawn from the best of the robotic exploration missions, almost all the images are previously unpublished, and all have been processed by the author to an unusually fine level of detail.

Editors of Scientific American

About the Author

Olivier de Goursac is a science and space imaging specialist with a long history of involvement with Mars. After working with NASA/JPL on the Viking and Pathfinder Mars missions, he helped to create the "Mars Education and Public Outreach Office" in 1993. He became its representative in France, promoting the missions to Mars to the general public, and also did public outreach relating to the Pathfinder mission in the United States in 1997. He is the co-author of two books in France and a regular contributor to popular science magazines. Dr. James B. Garvin is a senior Mars scientist with NASA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (June 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810992108
• ISBN-13: 978-0810992108
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 10 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,297,322 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Picture postcards from a very distant shore, July 8, 2005

By 

Bruce Trinque (Amston, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Visions of Mars (Paperback)

"Visions of Mars" is filled with astounding images of Mars, most of them photographs taken by the Viking, Pathfinder, Spirit, and Opportunity lander missions, some by the Mars orbiters, and others created by computers based upon orbital laser data. Almost all of them are colored according to the best interpretation of what Mars would look like to the human eye (in general, the photographs are constructed from black-and-white images made with color filters, then layered together). We get to see the salmon-pink of the Martian sky and the coppery dust that covers the planet. Many of the orbital images show canyons that dwarf anything to be found on earth, Along the visual journey, the text explains the latest findings and thinking regarding the questions about water on Mars and the possibility of life there.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, great pictures, October 26, 2005

By 

Jeff Chambers (San Ramon, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Visions of Mars (Paperback)

This book contained some new pictures that I had never seen before. Written narration is good. If you're interested in learning and seeing more of Mars, I highly recommend this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classy pictures bring you right to the Red Planet!!, October 3, 2005

By 

William B. Bangs (Irvine, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Visions of Mars (Paperback)

What would Mars look like if you could actually get in your own spaceship and fly there right now? And what book would you want to put what you were seeing in context? Well, in both cases, this is your book! The fourth planet from the sun is brought to life in full color in this priceless blend of realistic paintings, actual photographs and informative prose. Great as a gift or for yourself: You'll never have quite the same Visions of Mars ever again!!