Exploring the Solar System chronicles more than three decades of planetary exploration, revealing the Solar System in all its colourful glory. At one time, the planets and moons of our Solar System were elusive and distant worlds that shimmered tantalizingly through telescope eyepieces; today they are landscapes as vivid and real as those of our own planet.

Robotic explorers on missions deep into space and new techniques of image processing have provided us with remarkably realistic views of planetary surfaces and have led to the visual bounty seen in this book. More than 300 of the finest full-colour pictures from the missions of NASA - including the latest discoveries from the Hubble Space Telescope - and the space agencies of Europe, Russia and Japan show us the planets, moons, comets and asteroids, and the mighty Sun itself.

Exploring the Solar System is more than just a picture book, and the opening up of the Solar System has not just provided us with exciting pictures. The book describes and explains the important scientific advances that have been made in the course of space exploration, including recent discoveries about our own planet, Earth, through satellite imaging.

It also tells the story, rich in drama and surprises, of the ingenuity and indomitable pioneering spirit that have enabled scientists to reach out and explore the farthest reaches of the Solar System.