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Introduction

About...

• Travelling in Space
• Ventures in Space

About... People in Space Spacecraft The Solar System The Stars

Archives of...

• Concluded Missions
• Defunct Projects
• Space History

Travelling...

• Into Orbit
• To the Stars

Missions...

• To the Moon
• Round the Solar System

Exploring...

• The Moon & Mars
• The Solar System

Settlements...

• In Space
• On Other Worlds

The American Astronaut Program: an FAQ (missing)

"How can I become an astronaut" and other questions answered.

Astronaut Information on the NASA World Wide Web

Links to biographical information, information about becoming an astronaut, living and working in space, public appearances, etc. Also bios of "some of the cosmonauts assigned to cooperative US/Russian projects".

Astronaut Profiles by Spacecraft

Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Shuttle, plus Russian cosmonauts. At the Astronaut Connection site.

Biographies of [American] Space Pioneers

Bios of American astronauts. At The Space Centre site.

Cosmonaut Listings

Alphabetical listing

Mostly a straight listing, but sprinkled with the occasional bio of a cosmonaut.

Selection Group listing

NASA Astronauts

Everything you wanted to know about NASA's men (and women) in space but didn't know where to find out. Biographical sketches (former, current, and deceased), astronaut factbook, missions and people in space. (Old site.)

Non-US Shuttle Crewmembers (missing)

In chronological order.

The Power of Not Giving Up

An Alan Shepard tribute. At John Shepler's A Positive Light website.

Space Shuttle Commander Eileen Collins

Brief piece about NASA's first female pilot astronaut. At John Shepler's A Positive Light website.

Yuri Gagarin Cosmonauts' Training Centre

Selection & Training of Astronauts

Last updated 1995 (though it refers to one matter which seems to highlight the speed of decisions inside NASA: "Since the STS 51-L accident, the payload specialist program has been under review by NASA and a decision is pending on whether to continue with this special crew member category.") At NASA's Marshall Spaceflight Centre's Liftoff to Space Exploration site.

Aboard the Space Shuttle

"A Scientist's Experience." By Fred Leslie, a payload specialist of the Marshall Space Centre's Space Sciences Laboratory, who travelled aboard STS-73 in October 1995.

• Frequently Asked Questions About My Flight
  "What does it feel like to be weightless", "what is the view of Earth like", "how do you prepare meals", and lots more.

  "I noticed several things that were so much different from photos and movies of the Earth. One is that the Earth on the sunlit side is very bright. Like opening a window on a sunny summer day. It fills the cabin with light."

Area 51 and Gordon Cooper's 'Confiscated Camera'

• By Jim Oberg. Article in Space.com, 26 September 2000. Gordon Cooper and his experiences on Gemini 5. Also gives an insight into why the Air Force's MOL project was cancelled.
• "Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper, in his new book Leap of Faith, presents a tale of government cover-ups related to spy cameras, to Area 51, and to similar subjects top-secret subjects, based on his own personal experiences on a NASA space mission. As a certified 'American hero,' his credibility with the public is impeccable. But several space veterans who SPACE.com consulted about one of Cooper's spaceflight stories had very different versions of the original events. And some of them showed me hard evidence to back up their skepticism."

Living on Mir

An interview with Shannon Lucid about her 188-day experience onboard the Russian space station. Interviewed by Patrick Meyer. At NASA's Marshall Spaceflight Centre's Liftoff to Space Exploration site.

Buzz Aldrin

Gemini & Apollo astronaut. 2nd man on the Moon.

Mike Mullane

Space shuttle astronaut.

Aerospace Medicine 101

By Tamarack R. Czarnik, MD. At the Mars Society's Ohio Chapter's site. (A sixth part, "Surgery in Space", is coming.)

Adaptation to Spaceflight

"As duration of spaceflight has lengthened, we've come to recognize a number of changes that the human body goes through as a result of exposure to the space environment. For the most part, these changes appear to be physiological rather than pathological; that is, changes tend to keep the body functioning correctly, rather than strictly injurious effects of the new operating conditions."

Artificial Gravity: Current Concerns and Design Considerations

March 1999. Examines "the primary problems faced in using rotation to produce A[rtificial] G[ravity], advantages and disadvantages of various proposed designs, and principal unanswered questions in the use of AG."

Countermeasures to Long-Duration Spaceflight: Part 1

Space motion sickness, loss of bone mineral density, muscle atrophy, and other space maladies. This paper reviews "in chronological fashion, the countermeasures attempted to date for each of these adaptations, examines the success of each, and briefly explores future measures being tested."

Countermeasures to Long-Duration Spaceflight: Part 2

Looks at the "paradigm shift from relying on countermeasures to accepting a period of 'pre-adaptation', and how this might be implemented in Earth Orbit."

Medical Emergencies in Space

Examines "the incidence of and accommodations to 'minor' medical breakdowns in-flight, then briefly describe[s] the mission-threatening occurrences thus far."

G-Force Tolerance Limits for Human Passengers

By Eric Lee. Part of the Building a Better Bifrost series. At the (now defunct) First Millennium Foundation website. (Note: the First Millennium Foundation has undone a title change (and associated domain name address change), but this document has not yet surfaced on its new site.)

Biospace 21

• By Greg Bear. 24 June 2000. At Space.com. Microbes and other biological hazards to space travel.
• "...engineers have told the public and each other that...only politics prevented us from accomplishing the dreams revealed in the motion picture 2001: A Space Odyssey. But they were wrong. It wasn't just politics. If we had tried to fulfill these optimistic timelines, it's likely that astronauts would have died. The missions would have failed. But it wouldn't have been engineering in the strictest since that would have failed--it would have been biology."

Space Medicine in Project Mercury

By Mae Mills Link. 1965. Covers "some important early life sciences and biomedical research that NASA conducted in the early 1960s." (The NASA History Series: NASA SP-4003)

Designing for Human Presence in Space

All about Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS). Produced by the Life Support Systems Branch of NASA's Marshall Space Flight.

Exercising Astronauts

Brief. Why astronauts must exercise daily while in space, and how they do so aboard the shuttle. At NASA's Marshall Spaceflight Centre's Liftoff to Space Exploration site.

Fat Slobs in Space

By Jonathan Vos Post. 1991. "Are you overweight? Out of shape? Afraid that you'll be rejected for spaceflight when your chance finally comes? Worry no more--space biologists have good news for you!" At the Computer Futures Space Publications page.

Food for Space

A NASA factsheet. Mainly about the Shuttle's food system.

Food for Space Flight

History of food in space, the shuttle food system and menu, food system constraints. At NASA's Marshall Spaceflight Centre's Liftoff to Space Exploration site.

From Monasteries to Spaceflight

By Liza Mezzacappa. In Tranquility magazine at the 2111 Foundation for Exploration's site. Reports on a proposed expedition by the Society to examine the cloistered lifestyle of various religious communities to see what lessons might be learned from them for application on future (lengthy) voyages in space.

Humans in Space Flight (missing)

The biological effects of space travel. Eg How long can a person survive in the vacuum of space? (Longer than you might think...provided you don't try holding your breath!)

Inhabiting Artificial Gravity

By Theodore W. Hall. Examines "artificial gravity from the point of view of a person living and moving within a rotating habitat." Technical paper. Presented at the Space Technology Conference, 28-30 September 1999, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. At the Space Future site.

Living Aloft: Human Requirements for Extended Spaceflight

By Mary M. Connors, Albert A. Harrison, & Faren R. Akins. 1985. At the NASA History Series site.

Living and Working In Space

Food for spaceflight, shuttle crew equipment, etc. At NASA's Spacelink site.

Living in the Space Shuttle

Air, menu, sanitation, etc. A NASA factsheet.

Radiation Hazards to Crews of Interplanetary Missions: Biological Issues and Research Strategies

By a task group of the Space Studies Board of the US National Academy of Sciences site. 1996.

Report of the Workshop on Biology-based Technology to Enhance Human Well-being and Function in Extended Space Exploration

At the Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration (COMPLEX) of the Space Studies Board of the US National Academy of Sciences site. 1998.

Scientists Examine Artificial Gravity

• By Leonard David. 8 November 2000. News item. At Space.com. (Note: the window title has "Spin Doctors Examine Artificial Gravity".)
• "Artificial gravity has long been viewed as the most effective way to prevent deconditioning of space travelers. In the 1950's, for example, space visionary Wernher von Braun saw a huge, rotating space station to keep occupants fit and functional. ... But now there's a new spin on creating artificial gravity. ... [Laurence] Young and his colleagues are hard at work on investigating use of a personal centrifuge. Just a few yards (meters) in radius, the device is too small to live in. Yet an astronaut could get something akin to a gravitational massage using the scheme."

Sleeping in Space

About sleeping accommodation in the shuttle. At NASA's Marshall Spaceflight Centre's Liftoff to Space Exploration site.

Wardrobe for Space

A NASA factsheet. Mainly about what you wear on the Shuttle. Another copy here.

If you've seen Hollywood's Space Cowboys, here's a real-life group of 13 people who but for cruel fate might otherwise have been...the first women in space.

Astronaut Jerrie Cobb, Our Other American Legend

• At John Shepler's A Positive Light website.
• "We can recite the names of the Mercury 7 astronauts, their space capsules and the rockets that lifted them. But how many of us ever heard of the Mercury 13, the forgotten astronauts? They were America's first female space fliers, decades before Sally Ride flew in the Space Shuttle. Selected by NASA to the same exact screening process as the Mercury 7 men, they had college degrees, thousands of flight hours and excellent health. ... So what happened?"

The Mercury 13

Website "dedicated to the women [astronaut trainees] of the Mercury era". Brief background & bios of all 13.

The Mercury 13 Story

• By Mary Wallace ("Wally") Funk (who was one of the 13). At the website for The Ninety-Nines, the International Organisation of Women Pilots.
• "Dr. R. Lovelace helped NASA draw up their profile of the perfect astronaut, based on years of medical testing experience of pilots. ... in 1959, Dr. Lovelace was in Miami, Florida attending an Aviation Convention, when he and Air Force Brigadier General Donald Flickinger wondered how women would handle the new frontier of space, if they were given a chance."

NOW Launches Campaign to Send Pilot Jerrie Cobb Into Space

By Latifa Lyles. In the Winter 1999 issue of the National NOW Times. Bio piece about Jerrie Cobb & about the National Organisation of Women's campaign, but also includes some a tidbit or two about what happened after the 13 were removed the space program.

Pioneer flier shoots for stars, bids for spaceflight

• By Francis X. Donnelly. News item. 21 June 1998. At Florida Today's Space website. In the wake of John Glenn's then-proposed shuttle flight, Jerrie Cobb renews her own bid to fly in space.
• "They promised her the moon. NASA officials told Jerrie Cobb in 1959 she would be the first woman in space. They praised her on national TV. And then they changed their minds."
• "During her 34 years as a missionary [in South America], she had always said the only thing that would remove her from the bush was the thing that put her there--space travel. 'Nothing means more to me,' Cobb said in an interview last week. 'Nothing in life is as important. I would do anything for the chance [to go into space].'"

Wally Funk

Biographical piece on Mary Wallace Funk which (amongst other things) details the three phases of testing would-be astronauts (male and female) were required to go through back in the Mercury era. At the website for The Ninety-Nines, the International Organisation of Women Pilots.

Biographical and other Personnel Information

Bios on NASA administrators & deputy administrators, plus shorter capsule bios of various "Aerospace Officials and Policymakers". As well there are links to other NASA personnel biographical material. At NASA's history site.

Biographies of Early Space Pioneers

Includes (inter alia) Wernher von Braun, Robert Goddard, Hugh Dryden, Sergei Korolev, William Pickering, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, and James Van Allen. Part of Sputnik and The Dawn of the Space Age. (Old site.)

Biographies of Space Pioneers

Wernher von Braun, along with assorted astronauts. At The Space Centre site.

Hermann Oberth: The Space Pioneer

By Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger. From a speech originally delivered in New Mexico in 1976 by a long-time colleague and friend of Oberth's.

How Donna Shirley Manages Martians

About the manager of NASA's Mars exploration program. At John Shepler's A Positive Light website.

The Life of Konstantin Eduardovitch Tsiolkovsky: 1857-1935

The early Russian pioneer of astronautics. At the The Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics site.

Wernher Von Braun

A bio of the German-born rocket engineer. At NASA's Marshall Spaceflight Centre's Liftoff to Space Exploration site.

Spaceline

A "bibliographic database containing information about publications on space and ground-based life sciences research". One of the (American) National Library of Medicine's specialized databases.

Spacejobs.com

Provides "a direct employment advertising channel to professionals in the aeronautics and space industries." Website also has links to news items about space from around the Net.

EVA Safety: Space Suit Interoperability

Position paper put out in 1996 by the International Academy of Astronautics.

Astronautics, Spacecraft Design and Spacecraft Systems

Mainly links to info elsewhere on these topics. But also has an extensive bibliography on these subjects.

Computers in Spaceflight: The NASA Experience

By James E. Tomayko. 1988. Covers computers in the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Shuttle programs, as well as for robotic spacecraft and ground systems. This on-line version is missing some necessary figures, though. A NASA contractor report. (Old site.)

Magnetic Radiation Shielding: An Idea Whose Time Has Returned?

By Geoffrey A Landis. Presented at the Tenth Biennial SSI/Princeton Conference on Space Manufacturing May 15-19, 1991. At the Island One site. ("One solution to the problem of shielding crew from particulate radiation in space is to use active electromagnetic shielding.")

Mission and Spacecraft Library

Formerly "Mike's Spacecraft Library". A "public source for information about spacecraft. All kinds of spacecraft. Big spacecraft and small spacecraft. American, Soviet, Japanese, Indian, Chinese, and Luxembourgian (?) spacecraft. Research, communications, astronomy, navigation, and spy satellites." At a JPL site.

Small Spacecraft Technology Initiative (SSTI) (NASA)

Basics of Spaceflight: Flying a Robotic Interplanetary Spaceship

By Dave Doody. A look at what goes on at Mission Control. From The Planetary Report, vol. 16, no. 6, Nov/Dec 1996.

Articles & Essays

Antigravity

Advanced Space Propulsion Study - Antiproton and Beamed Power Propulsion

By Robert L. Forward. October 1987. At the Transorbital Inc. site. Various appendicies (though not all online), including "Beamed Propulsion to the Stars".

Antigravity I: Antigravity and Anti Mass

By John G Cramer. Antigravity, anti-mass, and Hermann Bondi. At Cramer's Alternate View site. ("Alternate View" was a popular-science column in Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine.) Published July 1986.

Antigravity II: A Fifth Force?

By John G Cramer. At Cramer's Alternate View site. ("Alternate View" was a popular-science column in Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine.) Published July 1986.

Antigravity Sightings

By John G Cramer. An overview at J.F Woodward's report of an "apparently successful table-top laboratory test of Mach's Principle". (Also a brief note on Eugene Podkletnov's now-withdrawn "gravitational shielding" paper.) At Cramer's Alternate View site. ("Alternate View" was a popular-science column in Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine.) Published March 1997.

Breaking the Law of Gravity

About Eugene Podkletnov & other antigravity enthusiasts. Originally appeared in Wired, March 1998. At their website.

Antimatter

Antimatter Propulsion

Overview. At NASA's MSFC's Advanced Space Transportation website.

Enabling Exploration of Deep Space: High Density Storage of Antimatter (PDF version)

Final report. By Steven D. Howe & Gerard A Smith. 1999. A "Phase I" study conducted for the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. Note: webbrowser must have Javascript.

When Isaac Met Albert

By Dave Dooling. Fairly brief article on futuristic propulsion systems using antimatter. At NASA's Space Science News site. ("NASA is giving it serious consideration as a rocket propellant to get around the solar system.")

Antiproton-Driven, Magnetically Insulated Inertial Fusion (MICF) Propulsion System (PDF version)

Final report. By Terry Kammash. Proposes a "fusion scheme that combines the favorable aspects of inertial and magnetic fusion into one is proposed as a potential space propulsion system that could open up the solar system and beyond to human exploration." A "Phase I" study conducted for the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. Note: webbrowser must have Javascript.

Basics of Spaceflight: Propulsion Systems

By Dave Doody. Unmanned probes and their propulsion systems. From The Planetary Report, vol. 16, no. 2, Mar/Apr 1996.

Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Workshop Preliminary Results

• By Marc G. Millis. November 1997. At the Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program Homepage.
• "In August, 1997, a NASA workshop was held to assess the prospects emerging from physics that might lead to creating the ultimate breakthroughs in space transportation: propulsion that requires no propellant mass, attaining the maximum transit speeds physically possible, and breakthrough methods of energy production to power such devices. Because these propulsion goals are presumably far from fruition, a special emphasis was to identify affordable, near-term, and credible research that could make measurable progress toward these propulsion goals.")

Canonical List of Space Transportation Methods

By Dani Eder. A list of "all known space transport methods." Includes "only those methods whose underlying physical principles are understood (i.e. no warp drives as in Star Trek)." I give two version below, mainly because the later version is poorly formatted and less readable than the earlier one.

• Version 0.75: 28 Jun 1994 (108K)
• Version 0.76: 23 Aug 1997 (131K)

Chemical Rockets

"One Small Step and One Big Kick!" By John F Santarius. Lecture #29, 1996, for the NEEP 602 course at the University of Wisconsin.

Compact Nuclear Rockets

By James R. Powell. A look at a compact nuclear rocket engine called MITEE. February 1999. At the Scientific American site.

Fusion Propulsion

Fusion Propulsion

"Opening the Solar System Frontier!" By John F Santarius. Lecture #32, 1997, for the NEEP 602 course at the University of Wisconsin. (An older (1996) version of the same (but #31) lecture can be found here.)

Fusion: The Power Source of the 21st Century

By G. L. Kulcinski. Lecture #26, 1996, for the NEEP 602 course at the University of Wisconsin.

Gasdynamic Mirror Fusion Propulsion Experiment

Overview. At NASA's MSFC's Advanced Space Transportation website.

Helium-3 Fusion: A Safe, Clean, and Economical Energy Source For Future Generations

By G. L. Kulcinski. Lecture #27, 1996, for the NEEP 602 course at the University of Wisconsin.

How Do Nuclear Rockets Work

At the Atomic Energy Insight website. September 1995.

Magsail-Augmented Fusion Pulse Propulsion for Spacecraft

By Charles Hornbostel. Thesis Pre-Proposal, University of Virginia. Uses a "combination of two existing ("off-the-shelf") technologies." Partly inspired by Zubrin's Mars Direct project. There is also a Statement of Topic.

Ion Propulsion--Over 50 Years in the Making

Author unknown. 6 April 1999. From Von Braun to Deep Space 1. News item from NASA's Space Science News site. (Also of interest for the 1961 portrait of Von Braun, who is posing in front of an artist's impression of Project Horizon, an early lunar lander concept.)

Laser Propulsion and the Four P's

By John G Cramer. "Laser powered launching to orbit is an emerging space technology that may eventually provide a techno-fix for the large expense of getting payloads into orbit, a way around the high cost of Shuttle payloads." At Cramer's Alternate View site. ("Alternate View" was a popular-science column in Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine.) Published August 1987.

Magnetic Sails

The Magnetic Sail (PDF version)

Final report. By Robert Zubrin. 7 January 2000. A "Phase I" study conducted for the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. Note: webbrowser must have Javascript.

Magnetic Sails: An E&M Project Proposal

By Charles Danforth. Brief. At the author's website. ("...the Magnetic Sail operates on a similar principle to its solar cousin. Instead of a huge sheet of shiny foil, a large loop of wire is deployed from a spacecraft. When a current is applied, this loop stretches into a circle (by Lenz's Law). The resulting magnetic field acts on the particles of the solar wind (composed of charged particles, higher momentum though lower density than solar photons). In addition, the giant dipole created by the loop acts on the solar magnetic field.")

Sailing the Proton Winds

By Charles Danforth. "An Investigation into the Principles of Magnetic Sailing". 30 April 1997. At the author's website.

Mini-Magnetospheric Plasma Propulsion (M2P2)

Hitching a Ride on a Magnetic Bubble

Author unknown. 4 October 2000. M2P2. News item from NASA's Space Science News site.

Mini-Magnetospheric Plasma Propulsion (study)

Phase I Final Report (PDF version)

By Robert M. Winglee. May 1999.

Phase 2 June 2000 Viewgraph Presentation (PDF version)

By Robert M. Winglee.

A study conducted for the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. Note: webbrowser must have Javascript.

Multi-Reactor NEP for Cargo and Piloted Missions (missing)

NEP = Nuclear Electric Propulsion. "A 'Hydra' class nuclear electric spacecraft maneuvers into Mars orbit, carrying a crew of six on the first manned mission to the Red Planet." A concept page at the Lewis Research Centre projects site.

NEP for Manned Mars Missions (missing)

NEP = Nuclear Electric Propulsion. "A spaceship prepares to enter Mars orbit, carrying the crew that will soon set foot on the red planet for the first time." A concept page at the Lewis Research Centre projects site.

Nuclear-Heated Steam Rocket Using Lunar Ice

By Anthony C. Zuppero, Bruce G. Schnitzler, Thomas K. Larson. Dated 1997. "A first-order derivation and estimates of the power-per-mass and specific impulse yield requirements for a nuclear-heated steam rocket (NSR) to deliver payloads to lunar escape from the lunar south pole." Now at the Neofuel site, which also contains other papers etc on related matters. Among them:

• Ice Structure Spaceship
  Viewgraph.
• Lunar South Pole Space Water Extraction and Trucking System
  By Anthony Zuppero, George Zupp, et al. A 1998 version of the 1997 paper listed above.
• Lunar Ice Solar Spaceships
  Viewgraphs.

Nuclear or Solar Steam Powered Rockets

Author(s) uncertain. (By Anthony(?) Zuppero & ? Hoff?) 28 May 1998. Uses lunar ice. At the Spaceport Moon? site. ("If future space exploration is to occur there needs to be a significant reduction in the cost of space transportation.")

Nuclear Power in Space

By G. L. Kulcinski. Lecture #25, 1996, for the NEEP 602 course at the University of Wisconsin.

Nuclear Thermal Propulsion

Early programs (NERVA, etc), SDI, SEI, & Timberwind. At the Federation of American Scientists' site.

On-Orbit Vehicle Propulsion Concepts (missing)

Discusses solar-electric, solar-thermal, and advanced chemical systems for manoeurving satellites (esp. military satellites) in orbit. A program is also available for downloading which "illustrates some of the relative advantages and disadvantages of electric and chemical on-orbit propulsion". At The US Air Force's XR Developmental Planning Directorate Home Page.

Plasma and Electric Propulsion

"Charge!" By John F Santarius. Lecture #30, 1996, for the NEEP 602 course at the University of Wisconsin.

Plasma Pulsed Power Generation [Propulsion System] (PDF version)

Final report. By Clark W. Hawk. 1999. A "Phase I" study conducted for the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. Note: webbrowser must have Javascript. Also note: the words "propulsion system" appear as a title in a separate overview document but not as part of the title of the final report, although the subject is addressed in the body of the report.

Primary Propulsion for Piloted Deep Space Exploration (PDF version)

Final report. By Michael R. LaPointe. December 1999. Outlines "a new concept for a high density, high temperature plasma thruster that can meet future deep space propulsion requirements." A "Phase I" study conducted for the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. Note: webbrowser must have Javascript.

The Problem of Space Travel: The Rocket Motor

By Hermann Noordung (real name: Herman Potocnik). An English translation of his Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums. (The NASA History Series: NASA SP-4026) (Old site.)

Reaching for the stars

Author unknown. 12 April 1999. An overview of the prospects of using antimatter & fusion for rocket propulsion. News item from NASA's Space Science News site.

Solar Electric Propulsion

NSTAR Solar Electric Propulsion

A "high-specific-impulse solar electric propulsion system for deep space primary propulsion...developed under the joint leadership of JPL and the Glenn Research Center". At NASA's Advanced Technologies and Mission Studies site.

Solar Electric Propulsion for Mars Exploration

By Kurt J. Hack. At NASA's Glenn Research Centre website.

Solar Sails & Laser Sails (aka Light Sails)

Advanced Solar and Laser Pushed Lightsail Concepts (PDF version)

Final report. By Geoffrey A. Landis. 31 May 1999. Analyzes "the potential use of dielectric thin films for solar and laser sails. The advantages are extremely light weight and good high temperature properties, which are necessary for both for solar-sail missions inward toward the sun, for solar sail missions outward from the sun that use a close perihelion pass to build speed, and for high velocity laser-pushed missions for the outer solar system and for interstellar probes." A "Phase I" study conducted for the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. Note: webbrowser must have Javascript.

The Microlight Solar Sail

"Instead of sail designs covering many square kilometres that have surfaced in the past...this would only be a few square metres in size."

The Physics of Solar Sailing

By Christopher Neufeld. c.1990 (with a 1995 addendum). At the author's website.

Solar and Laser Driven Light Sails

By Alasdair Allan. 1993? Overview of the physical concepts, design considerations, rigging, etc. At his homepage.

Some Novel Space Propulsion Systems

By Forrest Bishop. Light sails, magsails, mass drivers, etc. At the 1997 Foresight [Institute] Conference on Molecular Nanotechnology site.

Space Drives, Phased Arrays, and Interferometry

By John G Cramer. At Cramer's Alternate View site. ("Alternate View" was a popular-science column in Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine.) Published January 1997.

Space Nuclear Power: Key to Outer Solar System Exploration

Dated March 1995. An AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics) Position Paper Prepared by the Public Policy Committee.

Tunneling through the Lightspeed Barrier

By John G Cramer. "A controversy is presently raging in certain physics journals and conferences over whether Einstein's speed of light barrier has been breached by light itself." Gunther Nimtz and his experiment with microwaves and Mozart's 40th Symphony. At Cramer's Alternate View site. ("Alternate View" was a popular-science column in Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine.) Published December 1995.

US Nuclear Rocket Programs

From NERVA to SEI. At the Atomic Energy Insight website. September 1995.

The Tachyon Drive: V_ex= and E_ex= 0

By John G Cramer. Using the hypothetical tachyons as reaction fuel. At Cramer's Alternate View site. ("Alternate View" was a popular-science column in Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine.) Published October 1993.

Websites

Advanced Propulsion Concepts Notebook

Numerous short essays on everything from advanced chemical propulsion to light sails and antimatter propulsion, from Mars in situ propellant production to interstellar missions. On JPL's Thermal and Propulsion Engineering Section site.

Advanced Space Transportation

MSFC website. 2nd, 3rd, & 4th generation RLVs, etc. Plus PDF files on more exotic propulsion technologies (such as antimatter).

Antimatter Space Propulsion page

Website at Penn State University.

Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program Homepage

A NASA site. Seeks "the ultimate breakthroughs in space transportation:

1. Propelling a vehicle without propellant mass;
2. Attaining the maximum transit speeds physically possible; and
3. Creating new energy production methods to power such devices."

Electric Propulsion Homepage

At NASA's Lewis Research Centre site.

Electromagnetic Propulsion (EMP) Home page

Mass drivers and railguns. Mission statement:

• "To get cargo to orbit via Coilgun by the year 2005.
• "To have a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Cargo Depot that will fuel and supply Single Stage To Orbit(SSTO) vehicles for longer durations in Space, Trips to the Moon, Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs), and perhaps Mars."

Experimental Rocket Propulsion Society

Founded "in February of 1993 to gather together interested amateurs to learn about, design, build, and test liquid fuel rocket engines."

Mini-Magnetospheric Plasma Propulsion (M2P2)

"Space Propulsion at the University of Washington". Pics, technical info (you'll need Adobe Acrobat to view them), etc.

NASA Space Transportation

MSFC website. X-33, shuttle upgrades, faq, etc.

Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Homepage (missing)

At NASA's Lewis Research Centre site.

Propulsion Systems

Project Orion, SCRAM, "spacetime drive concepts", and other exotic systems. At the Island One Society site.

Quantum Cavorite

"Superconductors and gravity shielding: the Podkletnov Experiments".

Solar Sails (aka Light Sails)

Solar Sail Homepage

Solar Sails

Some essays (eg "The Physics of Solar Sailing") plus links to others, etc.

Solar Sails (U3P)

Home page of the Union for the Promotion of Photonic Propulsion (U3P). Site is in a number of language versions (including English, French, and German). Quicktime movies, a comic strip version of Arthur C. Clarke's short story Sunjammer (aka Wind from the Sun), and a java simulator that lets you pilot a solar sail, amongst other goodies.

Technical Publications of Dr. Robert L. Forward

At the author's homepage. Not really a website so much as a bibliographic listing of Dr Forward's publications. Of interest for the large number of these papers (over 50) available for downloading as PDF files, including ones covering such subjects as antimatter propulsion, tethers (lots about these), and light sails. Some of the less technical and more general papers have been given separate links on these pages.

How Aerospike Engine Works

At the Rocketdyne X-33/RLV Home page (formerly The Aerospike Nozzle Homepage). FAQ, pics, etc.

The Space Shuttle Main Engine Product Page

At Rocketdyne's Propulsion page.

A.I. In Space: Past, Present & Possible Futures

By Jonathan Vos Post & Donald D Rose. A "survey [of] some of the progress made to date in implementing such programs." At the Computer Futures Space Publications site.

Basics of Spaceflight: Electromagnetics

By Dave Doody. A "brief tutorial on how we use this ubiquitous phenomenon that makes planetary science 'doable'." From The Planetary Report, vol. 16, no. 1, Jan/Feb 1996.

Basics of Spaceflight: Electrical Systems

By Dave Doody. From The Planetary Report, vol. 16, no. 4, Jul/Aug 1996.

Basics of Spaceflight: Thermal Control

By Dave Doody. From The Planetary Report, vol. 16, no. 5, Sep/Oct 1996.

Future Spacecraft Sensors

By Jonathan Vos Post. Topics covered include: "focal plane arrays the size of billboards; holographic imaging of planets illuminated from Earth by laser; sonar systems deep in the oceans of the Jovian moon Europa; Synthetic Aperture Radar with antennas a mile across". At the Computer Futures Space Publications site.

Articles & Essays

Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

How astronomers work out what names to give new celestial bodies and their features. By the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union. Edited by Raymond M. Batson & Joel F. Russell.

Hypothetical Planets

By Paul Schlyter. Vulcan, Nemesis, Neith, Planet X, and others. At the Views of the Solar System site.

A Meeting with the Universe: Science Discoveries from the Space Program

By Eric G. Chipman, Donald L. De Vincenzi, Bevan M. French, & others. 1981. A NASA publication at the NASA Histories Online site written for a popular audience.

Volcanic Features of Hawaii and Other Worlds

The volcanic features of Hawaii vis-a-vis Io, Venus, Mars, and the Moon. A Lunar and Planetary Institute slide set. Compiled by Peter Mouginis-Mark.

Websites

The Astrobiology Web

"Space Exploration from the biological perspective"

Bjorn Jonsson's Homepage

Computer-generated (and super-realistic!) planetary maps, space renderings, planetary rendering tips, and other stuff.

Exploring the Planets

Solar system, Voyager, etc.

Maps of the Solar System

Downloadable map images of many of the planets & moons of the solar systems. Also a number of star maps. Part of JPL's A Space Library.

The Nine Planets

By Bill Arnett. An "overview of the history, mythology, and current scientific knowledge of each of the planets and moons in our solar system".

Planet3D

Venus and Mars topology maps, the latter based on data from the MOLA instrument on Mars Global Surveyor and now covering most of the Martian surface. The author outlines what he did to create the images in the article below:

Giving Mars Some Definition

By Adrian Lark. 19 September 2000. At the Space Daily site.

The Planetary Maps Hub

Maintained by Constantine Thomas. Computer-generated planetary maps. Part of his Ray Tracing Hub of the Apocalypse site (which also has space animations & flythroughs--eg of Voyager 2 through the Jovian system--& computer-generated space art).

Planetary Photojournal

Publicly released images from various Solar System exploration programs. At JPL.

The Solar System Guide

At the Stardate Online site.

Solar System Simulator

Generates coloured views of selected planets or moons. Select a planet or moon, a place (planet, moon, or selected spacecraft) to view it from, and a time and date (from 1600 AD to 2399), click the "Run Simulation" button and voila! Includes sample scenes & a number of quicktime movies made from the images. An "extras" package includes downloadable digital spacecraft models. Part of JPL's A Space Library.

Tales from Other Worlds: the Solar Family (274K) (missing)

• The Solar Family (274K) (missing)
  Sketch of the history and science of the observation and exploration of other worlds, from Galileo onwards, followed by a "guided tour" of the solar system. Includes some AVI movies.
• Origins (78K) (missing)
  Carries on from The Solar Family, focussing on "hypotheses intended to explain those observations [of the solar system noted in The Solar Family] by constructing a history of the solar system."

Part of the mammoth Planet Earth and New Geosciences by Victor A. Schmidt and William Harbert, for a 16-unit course at the University of Pittsburgh.

Views of the Solar System (English version)

Maintained by Calvin J. Hamilton. Now at its own dedicated site. Check out the top level page for versions in other languages (French, Spanish, German, etc).

Volcanoes of Other Worlds

A look at the volcanic activity of the Moon, Mars, Venus, and Io. At the Volcano World site at North Dakota University. Author(s) uncertain, save for the page on the Moon, which was by Robert Wickham.

Windows on the Universe

At the University of Michigan. Wider in scope than Nine Planets. (Covers the rest of the Universe as well.)

A Wormhole in the Cosmos

Website covering various astronomical matters and phenomena.

Astrobiology at NASA

At a NASA's Ames Research Centre site.

Cryovolcanism on Enceladus

By Andrew Dominic Fortes. Scientific paper. "As early as 1980, prior to the Voyager reconnaissance of the Saturn system, it was suggested, from observations of the structure of the E-ring, that there may be contemporary endogenic activity occurring on Enceladus." Part of his own website.

Near Earth Asteroid 433 Eros

Description (adapted from the NEAR press kit) of the main target of the NEAR spacecraft. At NSSDC.

Fallen Galileo Probe Uncovers Secrets of Jupiter's Hot Spots

By Maia Weinstock. The Galileo Probe's plummeting into a Jovian hotspot has turned out to be good news after all. News item (6 September 2000) at Space.com.

Jupiter Satellites Voyager Global Image Maps

"Controlled mosaics of four of the Jovian satellites using Voyager I and Voyager II data. Developed for use by the Galileo project." At the US Geological Survey Flagstone Space Mission Projects site.

Galilean Satellites of Jupiter: New Worlds Revealed

By James W. Head, III. An article in the December 1997 issue of JPL's Earth in Space of the American Geophysical Union. Stored at their website

Articles and Papers

Europa's Salty Surface

By G. Jeffrey Taylor. In the September 1998 issue of Planetary Science Research Discoveries.

An Ocean on Europa: The History of an Idea

By Ralph Greenberg. "The idea that Europa and other ice-covered bodies in our solar system might possess an ocean of liquid water under a crust of ice was first proposed by John S. Lewis in his paper Satellites of the Outer Planets: Their Physical and Chemical Nature (which appeared in Icarus, vol.15, 1971)."

The Partially Watery World of Europa, One of Jupiter's Moons

By Ronald Greeley. An article in the December 1997 issue of JPL's Earth in Space of the American Geophysical Union. Stored at their website

News Items

Europa's Bowed Cracks Could Point to Global Ocean

By Greg Clark. 16 September 1999. At Space.com.

Europa's Towering Icebergs

By Thomas O'Toole. 16 July 1999. At Space.com.

Jupiter's Deadly Radiation Could Power Life On Europa

By Robert Roy Britt. "Laboratory experiments show that when ice is bombarded with radiation, a host of possible fuels are produced--including formaldehyde, off of which common soil bacteria live. Radiation, interacting with water, also produces a suite of oxidants." News item (26 January 2000) at Space.com.

Latest Galileo Data Further Suggest Europa Has Liquid Ocean

By Andrew Bridges. "Magnetometer results from the January 3 flyby show that Europa's constantly roving magnetic field completely flip-flops every 5.5 hours in response to the rocking motion of Jupiter's own magnetic field. The rapid and regular switch of magnetic north and south and back again points to a highly conductive layer beneath the ice--a layer scientists now believe must be a liquid, salty ocean." News item (10 January 2000) at Space.com.

Life on Europa Unlikely

"Jupiter's Moon Basically Smothered, Researchers Say". June 3 1999. At the US ABC News site.

An Ocean Discovered: Europa Surrenders Her Secrets

An article in issue 43 of JPL's Galileo Messenger newsletter.

Scientists Discover Tidal Squeezing On Europa

By Maia Weinstock. "...over the years, scientists have seen countless cracks in Europa's icy crust. These cracks are produced as gravitational forces from Jupiter and other Jovian moons pull on the crust, causing it to split apart. Yet one problem scientists have been struggling with is how Europa can keep its shape when its crust is constantly being pulled apart. Is the moon gradually expanding in size? Could there exist so-called subduction zones like on Earth, where slabs of crust slip underneath other slabs of crust, thereby canceling out the moon's stretching?" News item (10 August 2000) at Space.com.

Websites

Europa Revealed

Part of the Astrobiology Web

Articles & Essays

Big Mountain, Big Landslide on Jupiter's Moon, Io

By Linda M.V. Martel. "While the plains and vent-related materials have been attributed to volcanic activity, Io's mountains may not be mere volcanoes and their origin remains a hot topic of research." Part of the PSR Discoveries page. April 1998.

The Discovery of Io's Volcanoes (missing)

Taken from "Voyage To Jupiter" by David Morrison and Jane Samz, NASA SP-439, 1980.

Jupiter's Hot, Mushy Moon

By G. Jeffrey Taylor. "Very high lava flow temperatures on Io lead some scientists to propose that the satellite's interior is a swirling cauldron of partially molten rock." Part of the PSR Discoveries page. February 2000.

Websites

IoFly.com

"Science news and images from Galileo's close encounters with Io". Does not look like it has been updated in some time. By NASA's Space Science News site.

Io: Jupiter's Volcanic Moon

Website about Io. Maintained by Janet Stuhr Wood. At Harold and Janet's Internet Hang-Out site.

Jupiter's Moon Io

Terrific website about Io. News, info, maps, links to online technical papers, and other material. Maintained by 16-year-old Jason Perry.

Articles, Books, & Essays

Ancient Life on Mars???

Martian meteorite ALH 84001 and the question of possible life on ancient Mars. A Lunar and Planetary Institute slide set. Compiled by Pat Dasch and Allan Treiman.

Approaching to Resolving the Question of Life on Mars

By Gilbert Levin, Lawrence Kuznetz, and Arthur Lafleur. The designer of Viking's Labelled Release Experiment and two colleagues disputes the results of the Viking GCMS experiment (which failed to find organic compounds in the martian soil). At Levin's Biospheric's website on the Viking LR Experiment.

Global Climatic Change on Mars

By Jeffrey S. Kargel and Robert G. Strom. "Today a frozen world, Mars at one time may have had more temperate conditions, with flowing rivers, thawing seas, melting glaciers and, perhaps, abundant life" At the Scientific American site. November 1996.

Images of the Martian Atmosphere

From MGS, Mars Pathfinder, and the Hubble telescope. At a Stanford University server.

Introduction to Earth/Mars Weather

At JPL's Project Space education website.

Is the Red Planet Really Red?

By Andrew Bridges. 29 November 1999. News item. At Space.com. The "Butterscotch" Planet?

Mars

By Percival Lowell. 1895. Read all about the infamous canals in Lowell's own words!

Mars

Part of the Views of the Solar System

Oceanus Borealis: New Facts for a Myth?

By Andrew J. LePage. An ?1999 overview of the evidence for an ancient ocean in the northern hemisphere of Mars. At the New Mars site.

The Planet Mars: A History of Observation and Discovery

By William Sheehan. An online version of the book published by the University of Arizona Press.

Planet Mars Chronology

Compiled by Paul Karol and David Catling. From c. 3000 BC to 1965. ("Planet Mars and the Ancients" and "Mars chronology: Renaissance to the Space Age".) Also a Mars Exploration chronology.

Planet Mars in Popular Culture

Compiled by David Catling. Mars in movies and literature.

The Red Planet: A Survey or Mars

Second edition, 1997. An "overview of Mars, including its volcanos, the Valles Marineris canyon system, features formed by running water, the SNC meteorites, and its two small moons, Phobos and Deimos." A Lunar and Planetary Institute slide set. Compiled by Walter S. Kiefer, Allan H. Treiman, and Stephen M. Clifford.

Stones, Wind, and Ice: A Guide to Martian Impact Craters

A Lunar and Planetary Institute slide set. Compiled by Nadine G. Barlow and Virgil L. Sharpton.

Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars

At a US Geological Survey site. Includes some stereoscopic views and some impressive (computer generated) perspective views.

Volcanoes on Mars

A Lunar and Planetary Institute slide set. Compiled by James R. Zimbelman.

Weather, Climate, and Life on Mars: An FAQ

By Dr David Catling. Is there liquid water on Mars? Why isn't the Martian sky blue? Etc.

The Winds of Mars: Aeolian Activity and Landforms

A Lunar and Planetary Institute slide set. Compiled by Steven H. Williams.

A World of Wonders

• By L.D. Meagher. 26 November 1999. Essay on Mars and its place in the human imagination on CNN's news site.
• "The landscape of Mars may be the most exhaustively described piece of real estate that no one has ever seen. Long before Mariner and Viking and Pathfinder sent back snapshots of the surface, the red planet was familiar territory. ... We love a good mystery. It is an open invitation to give our imaginations and ingenuity free rein. And Mars is a mystery on a planetary scale. We may not know why the sky is red or where the water that once coursed through its arid valleys disappeared to, but that only inspires us to try to figure it out. ")

Other Online Resources

Atlas of Mars and Viking Orbit Image-Finder

WWW-browsable, zoomable and scrollable atlas of Mars. Part of the Planetary Image-finder page.

Live From Mars

By James E. Tillman. An online educational resource about Mars' atmosphere, especially in relation to its atmosphere as measured by Viking & Mars Pathfinder. Coloured graphs, photos from Pathfinder, and essays on such topics as atmospheric temperatures, pressures, dust, and winds. Partt of the Live From Earth and Mars site.

Mars Geoscience Navigator

A service of the Geosciences Node of NASA's Planetary Data System through which you can "locate, display, download, and order geoscience data products from Mars missions."

Mars Today

A poster produced daily by NASA's Center for Mars Exploration depicting "current conditions on Mars and its relationship to Earth in four panels."

The Martian Sun-Times

"...gives you [the] daily weather on Mars as well as Earth (for our terrestrial readers)."

PDS Mars Explorer for the Armchair Astronaut

Create your own Mars maps "at a variety of zoom factors, image sizes, and map projections" using data from the Viking missions. At a US Geological Survey site.

Websites

Mars: Invasion of the Red Planet (missing)

Mars Multi-Scale Map (currently unavailable)

By Calvin J. Hamilton. overs 0 deg. to 360 deg Longitude and -47.5 deg to 47.5 deg Latitude. Part of the Multi-Scale Maps Home Page.

White Mars

• Maintained by Nick Hoffman. "The story of the Red Planet without water". A website devoted to the author's alternative to water being the agent responsible for the fluid erosion seen on Mars: carbon dioxide. Includes a downloadable PDF copy of the author's Icarus paper on the subject.
• "Mars' surface shows dramatic erosion channels that have conventionally been interpreted as the result of catastrophic outbursts of liquid water. Yet, everything we know about Mars argues that it is drier than the Earth, and all its water should be locked up as subsurface ice."

The Whole Mars Catalog

At the Space Ref site.

Mars Global Surveyor

The Daily Martian Weather Report

Atmospheric observations from Mars Global Surveyor's Radio Science experiment. At a Stanford University server.

The Latest Pictures From MOC

A selection of some of the more photogenic views of Mars from MGS. At Malin Space Science Systems site.

Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera Image Gallery

Browse through an archive of more than 27,000 images of Mars from MGS, ranging from hi-res ones to global views. At the Malin Space Science Systems site.

View Inside Mars Reveals Rapid Cooling and Buried Channels

By the MOLA Instrument and Science Team. "Elevation and gravity measurements, which have been used to probe beneath the surface of Mars, indicate a period of rapid cooling early in Martian history, and evidence for large buried channels that could have formed from the flow of enormous volumes of water." At the NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Centre's Science Visualisation Studio site.

Mars Pathfinder

Characterization of the Martian Surface Deposits by the Mars Pathfinder Rover, Sojourner

Scientific paper. By the Rover team. In Science magazine 5 December 1997.

The Chemical Composition of Martian Soil and Rocks Returned by the Mobile Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer: Preliminary Results from the X-ray Mode

Scientific paper. By R. Rieder, T. Economou, et al. In Science magazine 5 December 1997.

Dust on Mars: Materials Adherence Experiment Results From Mars Pathfinder

Scientific paper. By Geoffrey A. Landis. At the website for the Photovoltaic & Space Environment Effects Branch of NASA's Lewis Centre. Presented at the 26th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, at Anaheim California, Sept./Oct. 1997.

Magnetic Properties Experiments on the Mars Pathfinder Lander: Preliminary Results

Scientific paper. By S. F. Hviid, M. B. Madsen, et al. In Science magazine 5 December 1997.

Interior Structure and Seasonal Mass Redistribution of Mars from Radio Tracking of Mars Pathfinder

Scientific paper. By W. M. Folkner, C. F. Yoder, et al. In Science magazine 5 December 1997.

Mars Pathfinder

In Science magazine 5 December 1997. Mainly images and associated captions.

The Mars Pathfinder Atmospheric Structure Investigation/Meteorology (ASI/MET) Experiment

Scientific paper. By J. T. Schofield, J. R. Barnes, et al. In Science magazine 5 December 1997.

Overview of the Mars Pathfinder Mission and Assessment of Landing Site Predictions

Scientific paper. By M. P. Golombek, R. A. Cook, et al. In Science magazine 5 December 1997.

Results of the Mars Pathfinder Camera

Scientific paper. By P. H. Smith, J. F. Bell III, et al. In Science magazine 5 December 1997.

Viking

Martian Landscape

By the Viking Lander Imaging Team. 1978. A NASA publication (SP-425) at the NASA Histories Online site. The view of Mars from the Viking landers' cameras. Lots of photos (and discussions thereof). ("Tim Mutch, leader of the Viking Lander Imaging Team, takes you on a journey spanning a decade. Suffer with him as he copes with innumerable meetings, arguments, alternate designs, budget problems, incipient failures, and, at times, sheer exhaustion.")

Viking Orbiter Views of Mars

By the Viking Orbiter Imaging Team. A compilation of (and discussions of) photographic images taken by the Viking Orbiters. An online version of a book published in 1980 by NASA (SP 441). At NASA's Centre for Mars Exploration site. Another copy (differently formatted; in particular the photos are integrated with the main text) can be found here at NASA's history site.

Mercury Unveiled

By G. Jeffrey Taylor. "New analysis of old data reveals the nature of the surface of Mercury." Part of the PSR Discoveries page. Posted January 1997.

The Biggest Hole in the Solar System

By G. Jeffrey Taylor. The Moon's South Pole-Aitken Basin. Part of the PSR Discoveries page. July 1998.

Dark Mantle as a Source of Helium Resources

By Eugene N. Cameron. 1988. At the NEEP 602 course site at the University of Wisconsin.

Explosive Volcanic Eruptions on the Moon.

By Catherine M. Weitz. "How did deposits of fine-grained volcanic beads form on the Moon? Could these deposits supply oxygen and rocket fuel to future lunar colonists?" Part of the PSR Discoveries site.

Helium Resources of Mare Tranquillitatis Elements

Excerpt. By Eugene N. Cameron. 1992. For the NEEP 602 course at the University of Wisconsin.

The Lunar Almanac (missing)

Part of the Astrobiology Web

The Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon

At the Lunar and Planetary Institute's site on Research Resources.

The Moon

Part of the Views of the Solar System

The Moon at its Core

By Linda M.V. Martel. "...new evidence for a small lunar core strengthens the popular giant impact hypothesis which says that the Moon formed from hot, rocky debris after a Mars-sized object smashed into the early Earth." Part of the PSR Discoveries page. September 1999.

Moonbeams and Elements

By G. Jeffrey Taylor. "To determine how a planetary body formed and evolved, we must determine the chemical compositions of distinctive geologic regions on it. ... A team at the University of Hawai'i has developed a method to determine the amount of titanium and iron on the lunar surface from the amount of sunlight reflected at different wavelengths." Part of the PSR Discoveries page. October 1997.

A New Moon for the Twenty-First Century

By G. Jeffrey Taylor. Clementine and Lunar Prospector rewrite the geochemical history of the Moon. Part of the PSR Discoveries page. August 2000.

Origin of the Earth and Moon

By G. Jeffrey Taylor. Part of the PSR Discoveries page. December 1998.

The Surprising Lunar Maria

By G. Jeffrey Taylor. Titanium concentrations and the lunar maria. Part of the PSR Discoveries page. June 2000.

Articles & Essays

Pluto: The Undiscovered Planet

By Andrew Dominic Fortes. Scientific paper. "Shakespeare's Hamlet referred to the afterlife as 'the undiscovered country'. How apropos that the planet we have yet to explore should be linked by name to the concept of death: Pluto ruled the underworld of ancient Greek mythology and was accompanied by Charon, the ferrymaster who transported the souls of the dead across the river Styx to their afterlife." (Another copy here.)

Websites

The Pluto Homepage

At the University of Colorado's Solar and Planetary Space Physics site.

Pluto, The Ninth Planet: Cold and dark, but still a great vacation spot

Website. Maintained by Marc W Buie of Lowell Observatory.

Saturn Satellites Voyager Global Image Maps

"Global image maps of five of the Saturnian satellites using Voyager I and Voyager II data. Developed for use by the Cassini project." At the US Geological Survey Flagstone Space Mission Projects site.

Life on Titan (missing)

By Mike Salisbury & Laura Danly. "When scientists view Titan, they see a world that may have resembled Earth before Earth underwent oxidation." Part of the Life and Biology site.

A Preliminary Assessment of Titan's Ammonia-Water Ocean as a Suitable Habitat for Indigenous Life (missing)

By Andrew Dominic Fortes.

Saturn's Moon Titan has Earth-like Clouds

• News item, 23 October 2000. "Science news and images from Galileo's close encounters with Io". Mostly about the title subject. Of interest here mostly for the vivid depiction it gives (near the end of the article) of what it might be like on Titan. At the Spaceflight Now site.
• "'Standing on the surface of Titan, we would see a very dimly lit world, as bright as Earth under a full moon.... Below the orange sky, the Sun would appear as a diffuse light source through Titan's high smog. At night, we would not see stars through the smog's veil. On the ground, the atmosphere would be clear and the visibility unobscured. Temperatures would be uniform and winds quiescent. Every week, sparse clouds would appear below the orange haze but still high in the sky, barely visible. They would quickly produce rain and disappear.'"

Titan's Ammonia-Water Ocean as a Suitable Habitat for Life

By Andrew Dominic Fortes. Scientific paper. "Models of Titan's thermal history indicate that an ocean consisting of an ammonia-water solution, as much as 200km deep, is presently concealed beneath a crust of water ice." Part of his own website. (Other copies, with a different title--"Exobiological Implications of a Possible Ammonia-Water Ocean Inside Titan"--can be found here and here.)

Weathering on Titan

• By Andrew Dominic Fortes. Scientific paper. Dated 1 August 1997.
• "Following the Voyager flybys a number of important facts immediately became apparent. Firstly, better figures for the abundances of atmospheric gases were acquired; and secondly, in situ measurements of the radiation environment of Saturn by the CRS and LECP instruments provided new constraints on the rate of photolysis.... The new rate...indicated that the amount of methane currently in Titan's atmosphere would be entirely depleted on a timescale of the order of 50 million years. The brevity of this timescale in comparison to the age of the solar system suggested that methane must be being resupplied to the atmosphere somehow. Though there are actually several plausible mechanisms, the one that was seized upon most quickly was the hypothesis that an ocean of methane existed at the surface.... The reason for making this choice was that the surface temperature derived from RSS occultation data (94.0±0.7K) is very close to the triple point of methane (90.7K at 1600mbar). It was envisaged that methane played the same role in Titan's meteorology as water plays on the Earth, with methane rain and snow, methane frosts, methane rivers, and methane oceans."

Magellan

It's a Dry Heat: The Geology of Venus from Magellan

A Lunar and Planetary Institute slide set. Compiled by Robert R. Herrick and Maribeth H. Price.

Venus Surface Radiothermal Emission as Observed by Magellan

Scientific paper. By Gordon H. Pettengill, Peter G Ford, & Robert J Wilt. 1991.

Venus Topography and Kilometer-Scale Slopes

Scientific paper. By Peter G Ford & Gordon H. Pettengill.

Pioneer Venus

Pioneer Venus Hypsometry

Scientific paper. By Peter G Ford. A paper from 1986 pointing out that the altimetry results of Pioneer Venus published in 1980 "claiming a mean planetary radius of 6051.5 km", and subsequently used by the US Geological Survey, were, in fact, inaccurate. "It has recently been pointed out that the re-processed data have a quite different mean radius of 6051.92 km."

Virtual Trips to Black Holes and Neutron Stars

"Ever wonder[ed] what it would look like to travel to a black hole? A neutron star?" MPEGs, plus HTML and postscript versions of a 1993 American Journal of Physics article ("understandable to undergraduates"): "Visual Distortions Near a Black Hole and Neutron Star" (aka Would would it be like to travel to a black hole or neutron star?). The movies are "scientifically accurate computer animations made with strict adherence to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity."

Extraterrestrial Intelligence: A Skeptical View

By Glenn T. McDavid. At author's website.

Intelligence in the Cosmos: Flesh or Machine?

By Erik Baard. 15 August 2000. Some scientists believe that the most "reasonable probability is that any extraterrestrial intelligence we will detect will be machine intelligence, not biological intelligence like us." At Space.com.

The Quest for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

• By Carl Sagan. Originally published in Vol 1. No 2, March 1979, of Cosmic Search magazine (a now defunct publication which published lots of SETI-type articles; only the first four issues are online).
• "Through all of our history we have pondered the stars and mused whether mankind is unique or if, somewhere else out there in the dark of night sky, there are other beings who contemplate and wonder as we do--fellow thinkers in the cosmos."

The Reenchantment of the Solar System: A Proposed Search for Local ET's

By Dr. Gregory Lee Matloff. The co-author of the The Starflight Handbook argues "that intelligent extraterrestrials (ET's) may be present in our solar system, living in world ships that have colonized cometary or asteroidal objects during the last billion years" and proposes a research program to look for them. Stored at the The National Institute of Discovery Science site.

The Exploration of Neighboring Planetary Systems (ExNPS): Mission and Technology Roadmap (PDF) (4MB)

Presented October 5/6 1995 to the Townes Blue Ribbon Panel. On the JPL technical report server. A study commissioned by NASA "... to explore (i.e. to detect and study) neighboring planetary systems and to characterize and image individual planets in those systems." Note this is scanned-in version of a printed report, and in parts the scanning in has been poorly done.

Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia

Maintained by Jean Schneider. Also has a French version. At the website of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Includes lists pulsar planets, protoplanetary disks, and stars where no Jovian-mass planets were found.

Extrasolar Visions: Guide to Extrasolar Planets

Website maintained by John Whatmough. Visualises (with space art & diagrams) extrasolar planetary systems.

A Roadmap for the Exploration of Neighboring Planetary Systems (ExNPS)

August 1996. A study commissioned by NASA "... to explore (i.e. to detect and study) neighboring planetary systems and to characterize and image individual planets in those systems."

Searching for Habitable Planets

By Ron Blue and Woody Lakey. 1993. A paper discussing "the usage of radio emissions from lightning storms in extraterrestrial oxygenated atmospheres or Jovian atmospheres...to provide detectable radio signals suggesting Earth-type planets and Jovian-type planets." At the SETILeague's site.

Where is Everybody?

• By Chris Boyce. Published in FTL, a webzine. An overview of the paradox, concluding with the suggestion that "[t]he argument that aliens do not exist because there is none here can thus be seen as parochial and strongly anthropocentric. There is no reason why there might not be a major ET presence of some form in the Solar System right now."
• "The legend goes like this. During the days of the Second World War, scientists of the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos in New Mexico worked on the development of the atomic bomb. Numbered amongst them was the Nobel laureate Enrico Fermi. During moments of rest, over lunch or at coffee breaks, Fermi would seek those who had newly joined the project. He would then engage them in conversation regarding the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe and let them build up their enthusiasm for the possibility of life and intelligence. Then he would enquire, 'So? Where is everybody?' In other words, if there are other intelligences out there why is there no evidence of them here on Earth? Thus was born the Fermi Paradox."

The 100 Nearest Star Systems

At the home page for the Research Consortium on Nearby Stars.

The 50 Nearest Stars

A list of the stars within 4.9 parsecs of the Sun. On the Cosmobrain Astronomy & Astrophysics site.

Alpha Centauri: A Candidate for Terrestrial Planets And Intelligent Life

By Laro Schatzer. A look at our nearest stellar neighbour.

The Internet Stellar Database

Online database of those stars within 75 light-years (plus "some of the more well-known 'name brand' stars farther away").

Map of the Nearest 25 Star Systems

Drawn by T.J. Henry. A diagrammatic representation of the 25 nearest star systems to the Sun (ie out to about 13 light years). At the home page for the Research Consortium on Nearby Stars. (Another copy here at the Astronomy Picture of the Day site--for April 21, 1999.)

The Nearest Stars: A Guided Tour

By Sherwood Harrington. Dated 1986. "A trip through the stellar neighbourhood." Brief notes on Alpha Centauri, Barnard's Star, Wolf 359, and others. At the Astronomical Society of the Pacific site. (A somewhat shorter but in other respects identical piece can be found here, where the author's name is given as Andrew Fraknoi.)

The Nearest Stars to Earth

A list of the stars within 13 light years of the Sun.

Notable Nearby Stars

Website. Capsule overviews (together with links to research papers on the Net if available) of each of more than 50 star systems within 30 light years of the Sun. Part of the Sol Company site.

The Story of Lalande 21185 (missing)

By Ken Croswell. Adapted from a Sky and Telescope article. "Although dim and obscure, Lalande 21185 has a history stretching back two centuries."

The ABCs of SETI

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

By John Kraus. Galactic and cosmic perspectives, the solar & galactic neighbourhood, "waterholes", the "Unique or Average Question", and other matters. Originally published in Vol 1. Nos 1, 2, & 3 (January, March, & Summer 1979) of Cosmic Search magazine (a now defunct publication with published lots of SETI-type articles; only the first four issues are online).

Determining SETI Range

By Malcolm C. Mallette. 2000. "In theory it is possible to receive a planetary radar that might well be used by a society having a technology only slightly more advanced than our own over a range of 200 to 600 light years, using a 5 meter dish and current electronics and software operated at 10 GHz." Technical paper. At the SETILeague's site. First published in Radio Astronomy, the Journal of the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers.

The Drake Equation: Background Information

Essay. Author unknown. Includes a link to a WWW Drake equation calculator. At the SETI Institute Online's site.

Minds and Millennia: The Psychology of Interstellar Communication

• By Michael A. Arbib. The problems of communication with an alien intelligence. Originally published in Vol 1. No 3, summer 1979, of Cosmic Search magazine.
• "What does one say in a dialog in which each question must wait 200 years for an answer, and the 'conversation' may extend over millennia?"
• "...what if we receive a message from an alien intelligence telling us that they have found that the key to social harmony is for adults to live together in groups of 12--with four of each sex! When we turn from physics to sociology, we may find that much of the information is conditioned upon a biology with a completely different evolutionary history to our own. Trying to understand why groups with four of each of the three sexes help these creatures may give us insight into new ways of organizing our own society. But it is in no way a strategy which can be plugged in for any human society."

Position Paper on Declaration of Principles Concerning Activities Following the Detection of Extraterrestrial Intelligence

April 1989, and "endorsed by more than 15 international organizations". At the International Academy of Astronautics site.

SETI in the Twenty-First Century: The implications of new astronomical research

By John Wells. A look at the Drake equation. At the SETILeague's site.

SETI Range Revisited

By Malcolm C. Mallette. Brief. At the SETILeague's site.

What If We Succeed?

• By Walter Sullivan. Originally published in Vol 1. No 1, January 1979, of Cosmic Search magazine.
• "Ever since Cocconi and Morrison proposed a rational way to seek out signals from another world, Morrison himself and many others have cited what an enriching experience it would be for humanity to learn of the histories, political and economic organizations and cultural achievements of entirely different civilizations. Such knowledge could enable us to leap into the future, avoiding the pitfalls that have hampered our progress in the past. ... Such arguments can be carried too far, of course. Some enthusiasts say we could learn how to cure cancer or how to tame the fusion reaction of the hydrogen bomb. But it is by no means certain that beings who evolved via a different biochemical route would even know what cancer is."

SETI@Home

Home site of the SETI@Home screensaver/SETI analyzer.

SETI League, Inc

Fact sheets, technical articles, book reviews, etc.

3D Star Maps

Just like the name suggests. Create your own maps (this site explains how), or use software linked here to do so.

Other Worlds, Distant Suns

Website. Maintained by Darren D. Garber. VRMLs (65 nearest stars, brightest stars, Jovian system, etc), extrasolar planets, etc.

Stars

Website. "Portraits of Stars and their Constellations". Maintained by Professor Jim Kaler. Short overviews of a large number of bright stars (along with essays on various other star-related topics). At the author's Star of the Week website.

Windows on the Universe

At the University of Michigan. Wider in scope than Nine Planets. (Covers the rest of the Universe as well.) Including:

• A Peek into the Lives of the Stars: What Happens to Stars About the Same Size as the Sun?