Amazon.co.uk Review
Earth's moon, called Selene by the Greeks, is a grey, lifeless place, interesting geologically but perhaps a little disappointing to those of us looking for strange, colourful new worlds. But our moon is only one of more than 60 planetary satellites in the solar system, most of which are entirely unexplored. In
Journey Beyond Selene, Jeffrey Kluger chronicles these unsung places and the heroes who explore them: the Jet Propulsion Lab's staff of dedicated adventurers, who build and fly sleek, unmanned spacecraft to investigate other moons. "When astronauts finally did reach the moon" Kluger writes, "the lean, fleet ships of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory had already gone elsewhere."
Why explore the satellites of other planets when the planets themselves remain mysterious? Kluger describes astronomers' first realisation that in contrast to the lifeless gas giant Jupiter, its moons were a veritable scientific playground:
There were big moons and small moons, patterned moons and plain moons, brightly coloured moons and pasty-pale moons ... There were moons that could have atmospheres, water and even, perhaps, a spark of internal heat. Put them together and you had moons that could, in theory, harbour life.
Journey Beyond Selene chronicles the history of a little-understood aspect of humanity's quest to discover new worlds. From the early Ranger orbiters through to the incredible journeys of Voyager and Galileo, Kluger gives credit where credit is long overdue. They may not be astronauts but these space jockeys have the right stuff. --Therese Littleton, Amazon.com
Review
There are books which can take you on exhilarating journey beyond the confines of our solar system: Kluger's remarkable book is most assuredly in that category. Subtitled Expeditions to the End of the Solar System and Its 63 Moons, this is a chronicle of the most breathtaking expeditions in history, telling for the first time of the various projects to explore worlds billions of miles from Earth. Kluger also details the story of the people who are making these voyages of discovery happen: the talented men and women of Nassau's Het Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. In addition to discovering many mor emoons than were previously thought to exist, these adventurers have sent missiles beyond our own moon (the nearby world the Greeks called Selene) into the unknown, voyaging beyond the solar system. These robot spacecraft have visited seven of the eight other planets and - more importantly - the remarkable swarms of multiple of moons that circle them. They are worlds where volcanoes spew glittering snow, rivers run with scalding ammonia, geysers spout carbonated water and fires burn on one moon and dust the cliffs of another with ash and where whole globes shatter to shrapnel and then eerily reassemble themselves. The revelations of what the missiles have found are astonishing, and few who have experienced this remarkable trip to the tiny worlds of Ophelia, Titania and Pandora (as they are poetically named) will forget this astonishing series of expeditions. (Kirkus UK)
