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The Planetary Report • May/June 1991
Mars: Will We Ever Return?
On the Cover: The United States has scheduled the <i>Mars Observer</i> for a 1992 launch; the Soviet Union plans to send spacecraft to the Red Planet in 1994 and 1996. But these missions were well under way before the political upheavals of late 1989 effectively ended the Cold War and removed much of the competitive impulse that drove space exploration. Will telescopic views from Earth orbit, such as this image from the Hubble Space Telescope, become the future of planetary studies? Or will we find new reasons to explore the solar system?
Features
4 Can Space Exploration Survive the End of the Cold War? Bruce Murray thinks we are witnessing the end of the first great era of space exploration.
8 Magellan at Venus: The Continuing Mission: Charlene Anderson gives an update on this mission at our nearest neighboring planet.
14 The Soviets and SETI: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence and Perestroika: David Swift conducts a series of interviews with SETI pioneers.
Departments
3 Members' Dialogue The cost of NASA.
17 World Watch Space station Freedom; shuttle replacement options.
18 News & Reviews C-SPAN and NASA Select.
17 Society Notes Calling all Viking veterans!
20 Q&A Could NASA seed Venus with plant cells?
The Planetary Report • May/June 1991
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