Dr. Wesley T. Huntress, Jr., is currently Director Emeritus at the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The author was the widely respected Director of NASA's Solar System Exploration Directorate from 1990 to 1992, and then Associate Administrator for Space Science from 1993 to 1998, where he was responsible for all of NASA's robotic science missions. During this time, and throughout his long and distinguished career, Dr. Huntress, Jr. has had a regular and sustained contact and interaction with the Russians. He has gained great appreciation of the Russian robotic exploration program of the Moon and the planets during the 20th century.

Mikhail Marov is a long-time veteran of the Soviet scientific space program with experience on many past missions beginning the early 1970s and is currently at the Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry in Moscow, one of the two principal scientific institutes involved in the Russian space program. He is well known internationally and is one of the most recognizable Russian experts in space science and exploration around the world.

Presents a detailed, technical description of Soviet robotic space flights

Provides an historical timeline of missions and programs in the context of competition with the US

Outlines Soviet planning in both a national and international political context

Covers mission objectives, spacecraft engineering, flight details, scientific payload, and results

Includes supplementary material: [...]

Illustrations.- Author's Preface.- Acknowledgments.- Part 1: The pieces: people, institutions, rockets and spacecraft.- Chapter 1: Space race.- Chapter 2: Key players.- Chapter 3: Key institutions.- Chapter 4: Rockets.- Chapter 5: Spacecraft.- Part II: Putting the pieces together: flying to the Moon, Venus, and Mars.- Chapter 6: Breaking free of Earth.- Chapter 7: Launching to Mars and Venus.- Chapter 8: New spacecraft, new failures.- Chapter 9: Three more years of frustration.- Chapter 10: Finally success at the Moon and Venus, but Mars eludes.- Chapter 11: Robotic achievements in the shadow of Apollo.- Chapter 12: Landing on the Moon, Venus, and Mars.- Chapter 13: Closeouts on a Venus spacecraft, a Moon rocket, and desperation at Mars.- Chapter14: Turning from the Moon and Mars to Venus.- Chapter 15: Repeating success at Venus.- Chapter 16: Back to Venus again.- Chapter 17: And back to Venus yet again.- Chapter 18: The International Comet Halley campaign.- Chapter 19: Another tryat Mars and its moon Phobos.- Chapter 20: The last gasp: Mars-96.- Chapter 21: The Soviet lunar and planetary exploration legacy.- Appendices.- Bibliography.- Index.