The Last Frontier; November 2012; by John Matson; 1 Page(s)
Physicists try to puzzle out Voyager 1's position as it approaches interstellar space
This Way to Mars; December 2011; by Damon Landau; Nathan J. Strange; 8 Page(s)
By adapting ideas from robotic planetary exploration, the human space program could get astronauts to asteroids and Mars cheaply and quickly
Bugs in Space; November 2010; by Charles Q. Choi; 1 Page(s)
Microscopic miners could help
humans thrive on other planets
Planets We Could Call Home; August 2010; by Dimitar D. Sasselov and Diana Valencia;
8 Page(s)
The night skies are littered
with distant planets, but what are they really like? Theoretical models suggest
that a surprising number of "exoplanets" could be similar to
Earth—and may even support life
Critical Mass - Space, the
Final Frontier?; January 2010; by Lawrence M. Krauss; 1 Page(s)
Let's stop kidding ourselves
about why we really want to go back to the moon
From the Moon to Mars; July 2009; by Harrison H. Schmitt; 8 Page(s)
The only scientist and field
geologist ever to visit the moon offers some pointers to those who will one day
visit Mars
New Dawn for Electric Rockets; February 2009; by Edgar Y. Choueiri; 8 Page(s)
Efficient electric plasma
engines are propelling the next generation of space probes to the outer solar
system
Stirling in Deep Space;
March 2008; by Mark Wolverton; 1 Page(s)
To cut back on radioisotope
fuel, NASA goes back 200 years
Martian Rope Trick; February 2007; by George Musser; 2 Page(s)
NASA rewrites the book on
Martian landings
Power for a Space Plane; August 2006; by Thomas A. Jackson; 8 Page(s)
Creating a revolutionary
hypersonic jet engine that could propel a space plane to orbit affordably and
routinely is a tough but seemingly achievable task
Father of Spirit and Opportunity; October 2004; by David Appell; 2
Page(s)
With the success of twin rovers
on the Red Planet, Steven W. Squyres and his team are showing how to conduct
robotic missions--and setting the stage for human exploration (also in : Great
Minds)
Electrodynamic Tethers in
Space; August 2004; by Enrico Lorenzini
and Juan Sanmartín; 8 Page(s)
By exploiting fundamental
physical laws, tethers may provide low-cost eletrical power, drag, thrust, and
artificial gravity for spaceflight (also in: Extreme Engineering)
The Spirit of Exploration; March 2004; by George Musser; 6 Page(s)
NASA's rover fights the curse of
the Angry Red Planet (also in: Extreme Engineering)
Sailing on Sunlight; July 2001; by Mark Alpert; 1 page(s)
A low-cost mission to launch the first solar sail
The Way to Go in Space; February 1999; by Beardsley; 17 page(s)
To go farther into space, humans will first have to figure out how to get there
cheaply and more efficiently. Ideas are not in short supply
[also in The Future of Space Exploration; Scientific American Presents[
Light Sails; February 1999; by Harris; 2 page(s)
Science-fiction dreams of worlds beyond our own solar system have taken on a
more realistic aspect since astronomers discovered that the universe contains
planets in unexpectedly large numbers
[also in The Future of Space Exploration; Scientific American Presents]
The Big, The Small/Life in
Space; Extreme Engineering; by
Beardsley; 2 Page(s)
The International Space Station,
the only extraterrestrial construction project, will be ready for inhabitants
by March 2000
The Powerful, The Strong, The
Fast /Harder Than Rocket Science; Extreme
Engineering; by Howard; 4 Page(s)
If launching a rocket to the
moon sounds tough, try flying an aircraft into space at speeds topping Mach 20
_______________________________________________________
Below are collections of Scientific American articles
Scientific American Presents
The Future of Space Exploration
The Flagships of the Space
Fleet; by Staff Editors; 14 Page(s)
By exploring planets, moons,
asteroids and comets, these spacecraft are extending the frontiers of human
knowledge
Key Space Explorations of the
Next Decade; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)
The International Space
Station: A Work in Progress; by
Beardsley; 4 Page(s)
The U.S. and its international
partners are finally building a space station, even as they continue to argue
about the blueprints
Robots vs Humans - Who Should
Explore Space?; by Slakey, Spudis; 7
Page(s)
Unmanned spacecraft are
exploring the solar system more cheaply and effectively than astronauts are -
Astronaut explorers can perform science in space that robots cannot
The Mars Pathfinder Mission; by Golombek; 8 Page(s)
The first rover to explore Mars
found in situ evidence that the Red Planet may once have been hospitable to
life
What's Next for Mars; by Zorpette; 6 Page(s)
In the coming decade the planet
named for the god of war will be the target of a scientific armada from Earth.
Researchers hope to settle many questions about Mars, including whether life
ever flourished there
Sending Humans to Mars; by Zubrin; 6 Page(s)
A leading advocate of manned
misions to Mars outlines a plan t land astronauts on the Red Planet in the next
decade.
Bringing Life to Mars; by McKay; 6 Page(s)
Climate models suggest that
human beings could transform the Red Planet into a more Earth-like world using
current technologies
The Way to Go in Space; by Beardsley; 18 Page(s)
To go farther into space, humans
will first have to figure out how to get there cheaply and more efficiently.
Ideas are not in short supply
Air-Breathing Engines; by McClinton; 2 Page(s)
For years, engineers have
dreamed of building an aircraft that could reach hypersonic speeds, greater
than Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.
Space Tethers; by Forward, Hoyt; 2 Page(s)
When humans begin to inhabit the
moon and planets other than Earth, they may not use the modern technology of
rockets.
Highways of Light; by Myrabo; 2 Page(s)
Today's spacecraft carry their
source of power.
Light Sails; by Harris; 2 Page(s)
Science-fiction dreams of worlds
beyond our own solar system have taken on a more realistic aspect since
astromomers discovered that the universe contains planets in unexpectedly large
numbers.
Compact Nuclear Rockets; by Powell; 2 Page(s)
Someday, in exploring the outer
planets of our solar system, humankind will want to do more than send
diminutive probes that merely fly rapidly by them.
Reaching for the Stars; by Leifer; 2 Page(s)
The notion of traveling to the
stars is a concept compelling enough to recur in counteless cultural artifacts,
from Roman poetry to 20th-century popular music.
The Best Targets for Future
Exploration; by Staff Editors; 12
Page(s)
So much to see, so little money.
Interstellar Spaceflight: Can
We Travel to Other Stars?; by Ferris; 4
Page(s)
Small self-replicating probes
could be launched on interstellar journeys. Creating a galactic Internet may
yield even greater benefits
Making Money in Space; by Alpert; 4 Page(s)
Exploring the solar system turns
out to be the easy part. The next great challenge will be creating profitable
space enterprises.
New Satellites for Personal
Communications; by Evans; 4 Page(s)
Fleets of satellites will soon
make it possible to reach someone anywhere on Earth, using nothing more than a
small handset
Tapping the Waters of Space; by Lewis; 4 Page(s)
Space travel could be
considerably cheaper if astronauts could produce their own food and propellants
from the resources already out there
Exploring Space on the
Internet; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)
Thanks to the World Wide Web, anyone
with an Internet connection can explore space vicariously, browsing through
dozens of Web sites for the latest news about space missions and projects.
.