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EDITORIAL INFORMATION

The British Interplanetary Society motto is "From Imagination to Reality" and, in manned Mars flight we will see both the true magnitude of that challenge and the effort that is needed to achieve it. This collection of papers from the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society is a contribution to that effort.

(Extracted from the Preface).

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Contents.

-Foreword. Robert M. Zubrin.

-Preface.

-Section I: PRECURSORS.

-Concepts for In-Situ Resource Utilization on Mars: A Personal Historical Perspective.
-Mars Multi-Sample Return Mission.
-Report on the Construction and Operation of a Mars In Situ Propellant Production Unit.
-Mars In Situ Propellant Technology Demonstrator Mission.
-Design of a Water Vapor Adsorption Reactor for Martian In Situ Resource Utilization.
-Diborane/CO2 Rockets for Use in Mars Ascent Vehicles.
-Measurement of the pH of the Martian Surface.
-Mars Subsurface Radar Mapper.
-Mars Sample Return Mission With ISPP.
-Utilization of Martian Atmosphere Constituents by Temperature-Swing Adsorption.
-Athena: A Possible First Step in a Program of Human Mars Exploration.

-Section II: EARLY PILOTED MISSIONS.

-Exploration of Mars: The Human Aspect.
-A Day in the Life at Mars Base 1.
-An Antarctic Research Outpost as a Model for Planetary Exploration.
-Crew Support for an Initial Mars Expedition.
-Mars Direct: Combining Near-Term Technologies to Achieve a Two-Launch Manned Mars Mission.
-Exploration Strategies and the Astronaut's Toolset.
-Heat Transfer From an Internal Combustion (Otto-Cycle) Engine on the Surface of Mars.
-Space Suits and Life Support Systems for the Exploration of Mars.
-Practical Methods for Near-Term Human Exploration of Mars.
-Exploration of the Future Habitability of Mars.
-Footsteps to Mars: An Incremental Approach to Mars Exploration.

-APPENDICES.

-Publications of the American Astronautical Society.

-INDEX.

-Numerical Index.
-Author Index.

OUR REVIEW

The first volume in this compilation of articles published at the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, devoted to the studies on the exploration of planet Mars, is centered on everything having to do with the previous space missions, both the automatic and the manned ones, that some day will be able to travel to the Red Planet.

These are relatively recent articles, most of them developed within this decade, and therefore they have a special value for those readers interested in the issue of Martian exploration. As is usual, the preciseness of its contents, as well as the depth and variety of the matters dealt with, make this compilation into a true treasure of information in which prospective has a very important role.

The authors tell us about the new propulsion system, innovative techniques to use the Martian resources, the conditions of manned flights, predecessor missions, etc. All this in a basically divulgative style, easy to understand for most readers.

The second volume is devoted to the advanced stages in our presence on the planet (construction of permanent stations, colonisation and even terraforming).