This book provides a detailed history of unmanned missions of
exploration of our Solar System. It uses sources only recently made
available on the Soviet space program, in addition to some obscure and
rarely used references on the European space program. Unflown European
projects of the 1960s and 1970s, a subject never before treated, are
also be covered. As in their previous book 'Lunar Exploration' the
subject is treated wherever possible from an engineering and scientific
standpoint. Technical descriptions of the spacecraft, of their mission
designs and of instrumentations are provided. Scientific results are
discussed in considerable depth, together with details of mission
management. The book comprehensively covers missions and results from
the 1950s until the present day, and some of the latest missions and
their results appear in a popular science book for the first time.