Abstract
Before humans commit either their robot emissaries or themselves to voyages deep into the abyss, it is worthwhile for them to review what is known about their home Solar System. Even though each set of stellar worlds we encounter will be unique and individual in some respects, the same laws apply throughout the cosmos. What we know of the Sun’s retinue of worlds, satellites, asteroids, comets, fields and particles can serve as a model for what we encounter orbiting other stars.
Before brave explorers sail the seas in search of new and exotic lands, they ought first to prepare themselves by surveying their own country. Its properties may reappear elsewhere and help them make sense of new discoveries. One’s native land might have hills and valleys, forests and deserts, rivers and lakes — features that a foreign land might also possess. Whether at home or abroad, these features would probably obey the same basic laws.
Ken Croswell, Planet Quest (1955)
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Matloff, G.L. (2000). The realms of space. In: Deep-Space Probes. Space Exploration. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3641-5_2
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