Soviet Robots in the Solar System provides a history of the Soviet
robotic lunar and planetary exploration program from its inception, with
the attempted launch of a lunar impactor on September 23, 1958, to the
last launch in the Russian national scientific space program in the 20th
Century, Mars 96, on November 16, 1996. This title makes a unique
contribution to understanding the scientific and engineering
accomplishments of the Soviet Union's robotic space exploration
enterprise from its infancy to its demise with the collapse of the
Soviet Union. The authors provide a comprehensive account of Soviet
robotic exploration of the Solar System for both popular space
enthusiasts and professionals in the field. Technical details and
science results are provided and put into an historical and political
perspective in a single volume for the first time. The book is divided
into two parts. Part I describes the key players and the key
institutions that build and operate the hardware, the rockets that
provide access to space, and the spacecraft that carry out the
enterprise. Part II is about putting these pieces together to enable
space flight and mission campaigns. Part II is written in chronological
order beginning with the first launches to the Moon. Each chapter covers
a particular period when specific mission campaigns were undertaken
during celestially-determined launch windows. Each chapter begins with a
short overview of the flight missions that occurred during the time
period and the political and historical context for the flight mission
campaigns, including what the Americans were doing at the time. The bulk
of each chapter is devoted to the scientific and engineering details of
that flight campaign. The spacecraft and payloads are examined with as
much technical detail as is available today, the progress is described,
and a synopsis of the scientific result is given.
