Carroll M. Drifting on Alien Winds: Exploring the Skies and Weather of Other Worlds

Springer Science+Business Media, 2011. 238 p. — ISBN: 1441969160.Ever since the Montgolfier's hot air balloon carried a chicken, a goat, and a duck into the Parisian skies, scientists have dreamed of contraptions to explore the atmosphere. With the advent of the space age, new airborne inventions were needed. From the Soviet Venus balloons to the advanced studies of blimps and airplanes for the atmospheres of Mars and Titan, Drifting on Alien Winds surveys the many creative and often wacky ideas for exploring alien skies. Through historical photographs and stunning original paintings by the author, readers also explore the weather on planets and moons, from the simmering acid-laden winds of Venus to liquid methane-soaked skies of Titan.Starting Here and Getting There
The Sky at Home
Early Concepts, and What It Really Takes to Explore Alien Skies
Studies on the Fly
Studying the Weather from the InsideThe Forecast: Clearing with Scattered Ammonia Showers by Morning
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn and Titan
Uranus, Neptune, and TritonFuture Explorers
Field Tests Balloons, Aircraft, and Upcoming Missions
To Venture on Wilder SeasVenus Missions
Mars Missions
Outer Planet Missions
Chapter Notes and Sources