LUNAR AND PLANETARY
INFORMATION BULLETIN

January 2018 • Issue 151

Highlights

Note from the Editors:  This issue’s lead article is the ninth in a series of reports describing the history and current activities of the planetary research facilities partially funded by NASA and located nationwide. This issue provides a brief history and overview of planetary nomenclature, an important activity that provides structure and coordination to NASA’s […]  (read more…)

New and Noteworthy

Springer, 2017, 201 pp., Paperback, $34.99. www.springer.com As advanced in-space propulsion moves from science fiction to reality, the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR®) engine, is a leading contender for making “Mars in a month” a possibility. A paradigm shift in space transportation, this book is an in-depth and compelling story co-written by its inventor. It traces the riveting history of the development of […]  (read more…)
Springer, 2017, 279 pp., Paperback, $34.99. www.springer.com This book concentrates on some of the odd aspects of comets and asteroids. Strange behavior of comets, such as outbursts and schisms, and how asteroids can temporally act as comets are discussed, together with the possible threat of Centaur-class objects like the Taurid complex. Recent years have seen […]  (read more…)