What are the space robots, anyway?
The glory days of the astronauts might be over (at least for now) -- but what many people don’t realize is that the golden age of space exploration is in full swing. At any given moment, there are more than a dozen robotic probes undertaking missions to Mars, Saturn and the uncharted worlds beyond. These kinds of crew-less spacecraft have been exploring ever since the 1960s. Then, Soviet and American machines were sent on suicide missions to the moon in order to scout the way for astronaut footsteps. Now, the space robots fly under many flags, to destinations throughout the solar system, and even beyond its borders. They are powered by nuclear reactors or arrays of solar cells, driven by ion engines or flung by gravity to speeds of fifty times the speed of sound, and to distances beyond understanding. While their task is to cross far horizons, their ultimate purpose is to help us better understand life on Earth.
What is this site for?
One of the most amazing parts of this story is the fact that anyone with a connection to the Web can see the same bizarre sights the probes see—often within a day or two—because the governments and universities that fly these missions usually make the data they collect available online. It may be the robots that have physically flown to Jupiter, but it is people who are doing the exploring, satisfying their fundamental human hunger to know what lies over the next hill. If you want to ride along, there are many active missions run by several agencies, each with its own web site, but you can use this site as a single portal to the very latest and most interesting images and news.
Who makes this site?
Riding with Robots is written, designed and built by Bill Dunford, who is a veteran ‘desktop astronaut.’ For its construction, RwR relies primarily on the Mac OS X and SUSE Linux platforms, using the iLife suite and .Mac.
 
 
 
Legal stuff
The text on this site is © 2005-2007 by Bill Dunford. It is available under a Creative Commons License, which in this case means that you are free to use and copy the text, except for commercial purposes, as long as you provide attribution. Unless otherwise noted, the images are taxpayer-funded public property. The opinions expressed on these pages are the sole responsibility of its author. This site is not officially endorsed by any space agency. The author provides no warranties regarding the accuracy or usefulness of this information. Downloads are provided "as-is" with no guarantees. No personal information that is collected on this site will be sold or intentionally redistributed.
Dedication
To the people at NASA, ESA, JAXA and their colleagues around the world. They are modern-day Magellans who work for civil servant wages instead of plundered gold.
 
It’s a good time to go exploring
Selected sources and further reading
Space agencies and labs:
  1. • Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL - run by NASA and Caltech): www.jpl.nasa.gov
  2. • European Space Agency (ESA): www.esa.int
  3. • Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA): www.jaxa.jp
  4. • Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL): www.jhuapl.edu
 
Other web sites:
 
  1. • Unmanned Spaceflight
  2. • Planetary Society
  3. • Midnight Mars Browser
  4. • A Walk on Mars
  5. • The Space Review
  6. • Sci@Night
  7. • WanderingSpace
 
Books:
 
  1. • Murmurs of Earth by Carl Sagan, 1978
  2. • Worlds Without End by John Lewis, 1998
  3. • Journey Beyond Selene by Jeffrey Kluger, 1999
  4. • Beyond by Michael Benson, 2003
  5. • Astro Turf by M.G. Lord, 2005
  6. • Roving Mars by Steve Squyers, 2005
  7. • The Planets by Dava Sobel, 2005
 
Buy any of these books through the Riding with Robots shop, and you’ll help support the site.
 
Guide to active missions
Mercury
MESSENGER (NASA)
Venus
Venus Express (ESA)
Saturn
Cassini / Huygens (NASA/ESA)
Other Worlds
Hayabusa (JAXA)
New Horizons (NASA)
Rosetta (ESA)
Voyager (NASA)
Riding with Robots:
© 2005-2007 Bill Dunford. Some rights reserved.