The Planetary Report • May/June 1989

Jupiter—A Waiting Giant

On the Cover: Jupiter, with its Great Red Spot (lower left), and its retinue of Galilean satellites—lo (center), Europa (far right), Ganymede (not pictured) and Callisto (bottom left)—were last visited by spacecraft from Earth in 1979, when <i>Voyagers 1</i> and <i>2</i> flew through the system. They were to be shortly followed by <i>Galileo</i>, an ambitious orbiter and atmospheric probe mission once scheduled for launch in late 1981 or early 1982 from the space shuttle. Problems with the shuttle have repeatedly delayed <i>Galileo</i>'s launch, and it is now scheduled to be on its way in October of this year, to arrive at Jupiter in 1996.

Features

4 The Solar System in Chaos: Eugene Mallove shows that the orbits of bodies in the solar system don't exactly behave like clockwork.

8 A Triumphant Beginning: Bruce Murray explains the delay of the launch of Galileo.

14 The Phobos Argosy—A Brave and Bitter Tale: James Burke discusses the failure of the USSR's two Phobos spacecraft.

16 Approaching Neptune: Charlene Anderson looks ahead to Voyager 2's upcoming encounter with Neptune.

18 A Pioneer of Planetary Science: Bettyann Kevles tells the story of Gerard Kuiper, regarded as a father of modern planetary science.

22 Who Cares About Planetary Exploration? Jon D. Miller digs into public opinion polls to answer this question.

Departments

3 Members' Dialogue Failure of Phobos.

25 World Watch Magellan launches, Phobos fails, and Bush's space policy officials are named.

26 News & Reviews Pulsar mysteries; future of the space program.

27 Society Notes Mars SNAKE design team, Voyager watch, and Sri Lanka's Astronomical Association.

28 Q&A Where does "deep space" begin?

The Planetary Report • May/June 1989

View Table of Contents

Help advance space science and exploration! Become a member of The Planetary Society and you'll receive the full PDF and print versions of The Planetary Report.