FireFly

1. Introduction
• The Call of Mars
• A Passion that Goes Back to Antiquity
• The Mysterious Motion of Mars
• The Origins of the Scientific Revolution
• The Rhythm of Oppositions
• The Canals of Mars
• Mars in Literature
• Mars in the Movies
• Mars: A Continuing Mystery
2. Space Explorations of Mars
• The Long Road to Mars: The First Mariner Missions
• The Extraordinary Revelations of Mariner 9
• The Search for Life on Mars
• Mars Pathfinder (Gatefold)
• Mars Global Surveyor
• The "Great Martian Vampire"
• Mars on Earth
• Europe Goes to Mars
3. Humans in Space
• From Astronomy to Astronautics
• First Steps in Space
• Meeting Above the Earth
• Apollo on the Moon
• What to Do After the Moon: The Long Pause
• Stations and Shuttles (Gatefold)
4. Objective: Mars
• The Decision to Go to Mars
• Why People?
• Von Braun's Dream
• NASA's Abandoned Plans
• Like Being on Mars... in the Far North
• The Delayed Revolution in Space Travel
• A Stop on the Moon
• The Assembly of the Tsiolkovski
5. The Great Voyage
• Who Will Be the Crew?
• The Ship for a Great Voyage (Gatefold)
• Forward to Mars
• The Planned Itinerary...
• Into the Solar Wind
• Meeting with an Asteroid
• Life on the Way to Mars
• Meeting with Phobos
• Mars Seen from Above
• In Orbit around Mars
6. On Mars
• Touchdown
• Living on Mars (Gatefold)
• In Spacesuits on Mars
• What's the Weather Like on Mars?
• By Foot, Car and Shuttle on the Red Planet
• Where to Look for Signs of Life?
• Martian Canyons
• Valles Marineris
• The Volcanic Region
• The Largest Volcano in the Solar System
• Martian Craters
• Dried Rivers and Lakes
• The Mystery of Martian Water
• The Martian Poles
• Drilling on Mars
• Rally in the Martian Dunes
7. Back to Earth
• Leaving Mars
• The Stages of Return
• In Quarantine
• Is the Mystery Solved?
8. The Future
• Will People Settle on Mars?
• Is Mars Habitable? What about Terraforming?
• Will the Moon be Colonized?
• Space Habitats
• The Riches of Space
• The Industrialization of Space
• Humanity's New Realm
• The Planets of the Solar System
• Comets and the Oort Cloud
• Manned Flights to Distant Planets
• Does Life Originate in Space?
• The Search for Exoplanets
• Are We Alone in the Universe?
• Will We Travel to Stars?
• The Universe (Gatefold)

Scientific Appendices
Index
Glossary

Introduction
The Call of Mars

Just a small blood-red spot in the night sky, Mars is not the most spectacular object in the heavens. The Moon shines with an incomparable brightness, and two other planets, Venus and Jupiter, can be brighter. But Mars has indirectly presided over the development of humanity into a scientific and technological civilization during the last few millennia. Aside from the Sun and Moon, no other heavenly object has been as important as Mars in the history of humanity.

Mars may hold the answer to a fundamental question asked by science: Has life appeared anywhere other than on Earth? Throughout time, people have dreamed of conquest. Today, space exploration offers it to them. If the expansion of humanity is to occur beyond planet Earth, it will likely start with Mars, which could become a second Earth, another planet where men, women and children could settle, work and live.

This book is a voyage in space and time; it is a fiction based on the latest scientific facts. It invites you for a voyage on the Tsiolkovski, an imaginary craft in the year 2030, with a crew of astronauts on board.

The team is international, like that of the space station occupied since the year 2000, which is the starting base for this expedition. Among the team is French astronaut Michel Morey, scientific director of the expedition. The commanding officer is an American, John Sturgett. His assistant commander, Natasha Titova, is Russian. Otto Kruger, from Germany, is the pilot of the landing craft; the leader of the Marian Camp, Jeannette Noordung, is from Canada; Nagatomo Itochu, the head of the base camp on Phobos, one of the two Martian satellites, hails from Japan; and the doctor on board is Eduardo Duarte, an American of Brazilian origin.

It has been seven decades since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon. Now, several months after Tsiolkovski's departure, these seven people will reach Mars. Its exploration could open new perspectives for the future. The red planet shines high in the firmament of humanity's future. The dawning millennium could really be Martian!

 

Beautifully illustrated with photos and artwork.
-   Sky and Telescope  2005 05

Dramatic and brilliantly designed.
- Alice O'Neill  Los Angeles Features Syndicate  2004 12 11

Fresh perspectives based on actual scientific applications and dramatic images captured by telescopes and probes.
-   Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin  2004 12

Beautiful... stunning color... very visually stimulating... at a level that any middle-school student can easily read and understand.
- Kay Plesca  E-Streams  2006 02