Abstract
Planetary Geology encompasses several research fields. Its foundation and principles are rooted in geology but it heavily relies on remote sensing. It also borrows methods and tools from astronomy and astrophysics, matched with robotic and human fieldwork. Planetary geological observations began centuries ago based on astronomic observations, until the pre-spacecraft era. The birth of modern planetary geology is strongly linked the US/Soviet moon exploration. The future of robotic and human-robotic exploration will likely build on recent and upcoming technological development, as it kick-started few decades ago.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Notes
- 1.
In September 2016 OSIRIS-REx was sent on its way to reach carbonaceous asteroid 101955 Bennu in 2019.
Further Readings
Carr, M.H.: Geologic exploration of the planets: the first 50 years. Eos 94(29), 29–30 (2013). doi:10.1002/2013EO030001.
Committee on the Planetary Science Decadal Survey and National Research Council: Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013–2022, 400 pp. National Academies Press, Washington (2012) doi:10.17226/13117. www.nap.edu/catalog/13117/
Evans, J.: The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy, 496 pp. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1998)
Geiss, J., Rossi, A.P.: On the chronology of lunar origin and evolution. Astron. Astrophys. Rev. 21, 1–54 (2013). doi:10.1007/s00159-013-0068-1
Greeley, R., Batson, R.M. (eds.): Planetary Mapping. Cambridge Planetary Science Series, vol. 6, 310 pp. Cambridge University Press, New York (1990)
Kieffer, H.H., Jakosky, B.M., Snyder, C.W.: The planet Mars: from antiquity to the present. In: Kieffer, H.H., Jakosky, B.M., Snyder, C.W., Matthews, M.S. (eds.) Mars, pp. 1–33. University of Arizona Press, Tucson (1996)
Rossi, A.P., van Gasselt, S.: Geology of Mars after the first 40 years of exploration. Res. Astron. Astrophys. 10, 621–652 (2010). doi:10.1088/1674-4527/10/7/003.
Sheenan, W.: The Planet Mars: A History of Observation and DisCoVeRy, 270 pp. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson (1996)
Shevchenko, V.V.: Modern Selenography, 288 pp. Nauka Press, Moscow (1980)
Spudis, P., Pieters, C.: Global and regional data about the Moon. In: Heiken, G.H., Vaniman, D.T., French, B.M. (eds.) Lunar Sourcebook, Chap. 10, pp. 595–632. Cambridge University Press, New York (1991)
Tinetti, G.: Galactic planetary science. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. A 372, 1–15 (2014). doi:10.1098/rsta.2013.0077
Veverka, J.: Planetary Geology in the 1980s. NASA Special Publication, SP-467, xiv+187 pp. NASA, Washington (1983)
Whitaker, E.A.: Selenography in the seventeenth century. The general history of astronomy. In: Taton, R., Wilson, C., Hoskin, M. (eds.) Planetary Astronomy from the Renaissance to the Rise of Astrophysics. Part A: Tycho Brahe to Newton. The General History of Astronomy, Chap. 8, pp. 119–143. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1989)
Wihelms, D.E.: To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist’s History of Lunar Exploration, xxi–477 pp. University of Arizona Press, Tucson (1993)
Wilhelms, D.E.: The Geologic History of the Moon. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, vol. 1348, viii+302 pp. United States Geological Survey (USGS), Washington (1987)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rossi, A.P., van Gasselt, S. (2018). Introduction. In: Rossi, A., van Gasselt, S. (eds) Planetary Geology. Springer Praxis Books(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65179-8_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65179-8_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-65177-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-65179-8
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)