Journey to the Stars

September 1, 1989
Outer-space exploration is a field teeming with activity and promise, to judge from astronomer Jastrow's informal preview of what the next few years--and decades--may hold in store. NASA plans to launch the powerful Space Telescope, which will let scientists search for planets in other solar systems. The Americans and the Soviets are vying with one another to land on Mars and its moons. A handful of star systems within 12 light years of our sun are being scrutinized as places where extraterrestrial intelligent life might have evolved. Even our own solar system is abuzz with unresolved mysteries--witness the renewed search for a 10th planet that may lie in orbit up to 10 billion miles from the sun. These are among the probes and puzzles investigated in a popular style by a noted author ( Until the Sun Dies ) who draws on his past experience working in the space program. Photos not seen by PW.