From the first experimentation with rocket technology in the early 20th century to the Mir space station and the Mars Pathfinder mission of 1997, this one-stop guide to space exploration provides a wealth of information for student researchers. Combining narrative description, analytical essays, a timeline, biographical profiles, and the text of key primary documents, Roger D. Launius, Chief Historian of NASA, provides the latest information and analysis on all aspects of space exploration. Four essays give a historical overview of space exploration and up-to-date examinations of the race to the moon, exploration of the solar system, space stations and space shuttles, and U.S.-Soviet cooperative ventures. Ready reference features include: a timeline of key events; biographical profiles of 24 American and Soviet space pioneers; the text of 20 key primary documents relating to space exploration initiatives; a table of American space flight since 1961; and an annotated bibliography of works on space history.

The essays are designed to be understandable and to capture the human drama as well as the scientific accomplishments of space exploration. Biographical profiles include not only astronauts and cosmonauts, but also American and Soviet pioneers in the science of space exploration, NASA leaders, and the Challenger crew. Key documents include presidential speeches and directives on the creation of the space program and the decision to go to the moon, official statements on U.S.-Soviet cooperation in space, the text of the Apollo crew's radio broadcast from space on the first moon landing, recollections of Apollo astronauts who first landed on the moon, policy directives on the decision to build the space shuttle, the radio transcript of the last words from the space shuttle Challenger disaster, and a speech from Robert Zubrin, member of the National Space Society Board of Directors, addressing the promise of space exploration in the 21st century. A selection of photos complements the text.