This contributed monograph is the first work to present the latest results and findings on the new topic and hot field of planetary exploration and sciences, e.g., lunar surface iron content and mare orientale basalts, Earth’s gravity field, Martian radar exploration, crater recognition, ionosphere and astrobiology, Comet ionosphere, exoplanetary atmospheres and planet formation in binaries. By providing detailed theory and examples, this book helps readers to quickly familiarize themselves with the field. In addition, it offers a special section on next-generation planetary exploration, which opens a new landscape for future exploration plans and missions. Prof. Shuanggen Jin works at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. Dr. Nader Haghighipour works at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, USA. Prof. Wing-Huen Ip works at the National Central University, Taiwan.

Much has happened in the world in the 17 years since the first New Views of the Moon was published as volume 60 of the Mineralogical Society of America in 2006. An exciting new era of lunar exploration has begun, including the promise of resuming human lunar exploration, exploring the lunar Poles, and missions to many other high-priority science targets. It is fitting, therefore, to now summarize the current state of knowledge to the degree possible at a time when advancements in knowledge of the Moon are proceeding at a breakneck pace. Therefore, during this period of unprecedented lunar exploration activity, and as we continue to rebound from a global pandemic, we now happily announce this New Views of the Moon 2 volume summarizing the advances in lunar science and exploration since 2006. The Steering Committee is eternally grateful to all contributors and especially the chapter leads, and to Professor Makiko Ohtake (University of Aizu, Japan) and Dr. David Blewett (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, U.S.A.) for organizing the New Views of the Moon 2 Electronic Annex. We deeply appreciate the hard work and dedication of everyone involved in the production of this volume, especially Rachel Russell and Ian Swainson at the Mineralogical Society of America. This volume helps to frame our knowledge and expectations for an exciting future of lunar science and exploration and the new discoveries to be made. Having humans return to the Moon now seems more likely than it ever has since the last humans left the Moon on 14 December 1972.

Volcanism and tectonism are the dominant endogenic means by which planetary surfaces change. This book aims to encompass the broad range in character of volcanism, tectonism, faulting and associated interactions observed on planetary bodies across the inner solar system - a region that includes Mercury, Venus, Earth, the Moon, Mars and asteroids. The diversity and breadth of landforms produced by volcanic and tectonic processes is enormous, and varies across the inner solar system bodies. As a result, the selection of prevailing landforms and their underlying formational processes that are described and highlighted in this volume are but a primer to the expansive field of planetary volcanism and tectonism. This Special Publication features 22 research articles about volcanic and tectonic processes manifest across the inner solar system.

The Encyclopedia of Lunar Science includes the latest topical data, definitions, and explanations of the many and varied facets of lunar science. This is a very useful reference work for a broad audience, not limited to the professional lunar scientist: general astronomers, researchers, theoreticians, practitioners, graduate students, undergraduate students, and astrophysicists as well as geologists and engineers. The title includes all current areas of lunar science, with the topical entries being established tertiary literature. The work is technically suitable to most advanced undergraduate and graduate students. The articles include topics of varying technical levels so that the top scientists of the field find this work a benefit as well as the graduate students and the budding lunar scientists. A few examples of topical areas are as follows: Basaltic Volcanism, Lunar Chemistry, Time and Motion Coordinates, Cosmic Weathering through Meteoritic Impact, Environment, Geology, Geologic History, Impacts and Impact Processes, Lunar Surface Processes, Origin and Evolution Theories, Regolith, Stratigraphy, Tectonic Activity, Topography, Weathering through ionizing radiation from the solar wind, solar flares, and cosmic rays.

The Encyclopedia of the Solar System, Third Edition—winner of the 2015 PROSE Award in Cosmology & Astronomy from the Association of American Publishers—provides a framework for understanding the origin and evolution of the solar system, historical discoveries, and details about planetary bodies and how they interact—with an astounding breadth of content and breathtaking visual impact. The encyclopedia includes the latest explorations and observations, hundreds of color digital images and illustrations, and over 1,000 pages. It stands alone as the definitive work in this field, and will serve as a modern messenger of scientific discovery and provide a look into the future of our solar system. New additions to the third edition reflect the latest progress and growth in the field, including past and present space missions to the terrestrial planets, the outer solar systems and space telescopes used to detect extrasolar planets. Winner of the 2015 PROSE Award in Cosmology & Astronomy from the Association of American Publishers Presents 700 full-color digital images and diagrams from current space missions and observatories, bringing to life the content and aiding in the understanding and retention of key concepts. Includes a substantial appendix containing data on planetary missions, fundamental data of relevance for planets and satellites, and a glossary, providing immediately accessible mission data for ease of use in conducting further research or for use in presentations and instruction. Contains an extensive bibliography, providing a guide for deeper studies into broader aspects of the field and serving as an excellent entry point for graduate students aiming to broaden their study of planetary science.

Since Luna and Lunar Orbiter photographed the far side of the Moon, the mysterious dichotomy between the face of the Moon as we see it from Earth and the side of the Moon that is hidden has puzzled lunar scientists. As we learned more from the Apollo sample return missions and later robotic satellites, the puzzle literally deepened, showing asymmetry of the crust and mantle, all the way to the core of the Moon. This book summarizes the author’s successful search for an ancient impact feature, the Near Side Megabasin of the Moon and the extensions to impact theory needed to find it. The implications of this ancient event are developed to answer many of the questions about the history of the Moon.