Projects: Space Information
The Planetary Report
Volume XXI, Number 5, September/October 2001
On the Cover
Voyager 1 turned its camera back on its home planet
for the last time on February 14, 1990. For the first time, humankind
could see itself in perspective from the edge of our solar system --
something possible only through our efforts to explore other worlds. This
evocative representation of Earth appeared in the book A
Pale Blue Dot by
Carl Sagan. To see the image of Earth taken by Voyager 1, go to http://planetary.org/explore/topics/
voyager/pale_blue_dot.html
From The Editor
This is not a special issue of The
Planetary Report; our cover does
not signal content directly addressing
the events of September 11, 2001. But
both the Board of Directors and the staff
of The Planetary Society agreed we
could not publish the next issue without
some reaction to the terrorist attack on
the United States.
Our response was to return to our
roots, to look for inspiration in the words
of our cofounder Carl Sagan. We found
the words in the essay "You Are Here"
in the book Pale Blue Dot, published in
1994. There, Carl ruminated on the
lessons we could draw from seeing our
tiny planet, Earth, from the perspective
of a spacecraft hurtling toward the edge
of the solar system.
The spacecraft was Voyager 1, which, after finishing its duty as a planetary
explorer, looked back one last time at the world from which it came. The viewpoint
it gave humankind of our home world is possible only from such an exploratory
ship. The perspective gained -- of ourselves as well as of our planet -- is
achievable only by a spacefaring species. That is why we continue to explore.
That is why The Planetary Society will go on and why, we hope, even now, you
will continue with us on the journey.
— Charlene M. Anderson
Features
Opinion: Calibrating Success in Science: How Failure Fits In
As you've probably heard from news reports, the first test flight of
our Cosmos 1 solar
sail project was a failure. In any endeavor as difficult as space flight,
failure is to be
expected, learned from, and overcome. Glenn Cunningham, one of the
Jet Propulsion
Laboratory's legendary project managers, reflects here on the role of
failure in space
flight. Glenn is very close to The Planetary Society and its projects,
since he now
serves as project manager for our Red Rover Goes to Mars mission.
Touchdown! NEAR's Historic Landing
The Planetary Report has been
following the adventures of the Near Earth
Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) since its launch in 1996. It's been a thrilling
saga, with
near disaster making the mission's ultimate success all the more sweet.
We're fortunate
here to have some of NEAR's team leaders (Robert Farquhar, Joseph
Veverka,
and Bobby Williams) report to us on their scientific discoveries
and on the spacecraft's daring landing on the asteroid Eros.
Looking Back, Moving Forward: Assessing Our Solar Sail Test Flight
Here, project manager Lou Friedman reports to Planetary Society members
about the
reasons for the failure of the Cosmos 1 test flight, as well as our next
steps in our effort
to fly the first solar sail. The next test flight is scheduled for some
time this winter.
Teaching Science Under African Skies
Space exploration and the science
that drives it have the potential to inspire all
humankind. Future generations of explorers will come from all continents,
even those that
today do not support a major spacefaring nation. With this in mind, The
Planetary Society
helped sponsor “Under African Skies,” as you'll read here.
DEPARTMENTS
World Watch
Questions and Answers
Society News
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