Cambridge University Press has released a new book, The International Atlas of Mars Exploration – The First Five Decades: 1953 to 2003, by Western University cartographer Philip J. Stooke. It is the second exploration atlas Stooke has created having previously released the popular International Atlas of Lunar Exploration.
As with the previous lunar atlas Stooke created, the Mars exploration atlas is formated in chronological order and tells the story of every mission between 1953 to 2003 and includes previously never before published material. Each mission includes detailed maps and research goals.
A follow up book, The International Atlas of Mars Exploration – Spirit to Curiosity: 2004 to 2014, will also be published by Cambridge University Press.
“It’s not unlike an atlas of Canadian Arctic exploration with detailed maps of all the explorers’ routes, what they did at each stop, reproductions of the maps they used and so on,” says Stooke, a professor cross-appointed at Western’s Departments of Geography and Physics & Astronomy. “This kind of representation has never been done before.”
“The missions and events are listed in chronological order, providing readers with an easy to follow history of Mars exploration missions,” says Stooke, also a faculty member at Western’s Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration.
Stooke will be speaking about his new book at the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Mississauga Centre on Friday, October 26 at the University of Toronto at Mississauga.
The book is available in hard cover from several sources and is also available for the Kindle.