Planetary Adventures

As the Cold War was ending and the Soviet Union collapsed, Louis Friedman traveled to Russia more than 50 times. Between 1984 and 2005, he worked to advance international space cooperation to explore Mars and other worlds in our solar system. In this book, he recounts his personal stories from those adventures in Russia. Among them are observing a Submarine Launched Ballistic Mission on a Russian Navy ship in the Barents Sea, and testing Mars Rover prototypes on volcanic mountains in Kamchatka. He chronicles the times he travelled to the secret Soviet nuclear laboratory in Chelyabinsk-70 with Edward Teller, the inventor of the hydrogen bomb and he flew in hot air balloons on a Soviet airfield in Lithuania. These adventures were undertaken to advance the idea of the United States and Russia leading a world effort to explore Mars together. Included is a Chapter and Appendices on the politics, history and challenges of international cooperation for human exploration of Mars.

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TESTIMONIALS

"Individuals matter in shaping the course of events in outer space. Lou Friedman was such an individual. This lively book traces the unique and valuable role Friedman played in bridging the U.S. and Soviet then Russian space programs over a transitional two-decade period as the Cold War came to its end."

—Dr. John Logsdon, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Affairs, Space Policy Institute, George Washington University

"This is an important and exciting book. The role that possible joint Mars exploration played in ending the Cold War is a critical, and largely unknown story. Lou Friedman was central to this endeavor. His stories are both revealing and entertaining"

—General (Ret.) Dr. Simon P. Worden, Former Director of NASA Ames Research Center.

"This book recounts many innovative and exciting private contributions to planetary exploration and international cooperation. I remember Lou Friedman's early adventures in Russia pursuing human and robots and American and Russians exploring Mars Together. His interesting stories are prescient and prove the value of citizen supported science."

—Lori Gaver, CEO of Earthrise Alliance and former Deputy Administrator of NASA

-- Louis Friedman