Voyager : Seeking Newer Worlds in the Third Great Age of Discovery

by Pyne, Stephen J. (Author)

• ISBN13: 9780670021833
• ISBN10: 0670021830
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-07-22
• Publisher: Viking Adult

Summary

A brilliant new account of the Voyager space program-its history, scientific impact, and cultural legacy Launched in 1977, the two unmanned Voyager spacecraft have completed their Grand Tour to the four outer planets, and they are now on course to become the first man-made objects to exit our solar system. To many, this remarkable achievement is the culmination of a golden age of American planetary exploration, begun in the wake of the 1957 Sputnik launch. More than this, Voyager may be one of the purest expressions of exploration in human history. For more than five hundred years the West has been powered by the impulse to explore, to push into a wider world. In this highly original book, Stephen Pyne recasts Voyager in the tradition of Magellan, Columbus, Cook, Lewis and Clark, and other landmark explorers. The Renaissance and Enlightenment-the First and Second Ages of Discovery- sent humans across continents and oceans to find new worlds. In the Third Age, expeditions have penetrated the Antarctic ice, reached the floors of the oceans, and traveled to the planets by new means, most spectacularly via semi-autonomous robot. Voyagerprobes how the themes of motive and reward are stunningly parallel through all three ages. Voyager, which gave us the first breathtaking images of Jupiter and Saturn, changed our sense of our own place in the universe.

Author Biography

Stephen J. Pyne is a Regents Professor in the School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University. An award-winning environmental historian, he is the author of Year of the Fires, The Ice and How the Canyon Became Grand. He is the recipient of the Robert Kirsch Award from the Los Angeles Times. He lives in Glendale, Arizona.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	p. xi
Mission Statement: Voyager of Discovery	p. xiii
The Beginning Of Beyond: Journey of an Idea	p. 1
Escape Velocity	p. 3
Grand Tour	p. 11
Great Ages of Discovery	p. 35
Voyager	p. 52
Launch	p. 68
Beyond The Sunset: Journey Across the Solar System	p. 81
Beyond Earth	p. 83
New Moon	p. 85
Cruise	p. 98
Missing Mars	p. 110
Beyond the Inner Planets	p. 143
Cruise	p. 145
Encounter: Asteroid Belt	p. 154
Cruise	p. 161
Encounter: Jupiter	p. 169
Cruise	p. 187
Encounter: Saturn	p. 200
Cruise	p. 232
Encounter: Uranus	p. 243
Cruise	p. 269
Encounter: Neptune	p. 286
Cruise	p. 303
Last Light	p. 312
Beyond The Utmost Bond: Journey To The Stars	p. 317
Beyond Bow Shock	p. 319
Voyager Interstellar Mission	p. 321
Far Travelers	p. 325
New Worlds, New Laws	p. 330
Beyond Narrative	p. 339
Voyager's Voice	p. 341
Voyager's Record	p. 347
Voyager's Returns	p. 356
Beyond Tomorrow	p. 365
Afterword	p. 373
Appendix	p. 377
Chronology of Major Lunar and Planetary Missions	p. 377
Status of Voyagers (August 2009)	p. 380
The Grand Tour and Its Encounters	p. 380
The Coldest War	p. 388
Notes	p. 389
Sources	p. 419
Index	p. 427
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