MILLIONS OF MILES FROM HOMEMars. The red planet. Unimaginably distant, and yet at the same time the most Earthlike of the planets, Mars has exerted a powerful pull on the human imagination for thousands of years. It mesmerized the millions who watched as the small robot known as Sojourner explored its faraway surface from July to September 1997.Now, with a definitive book on this compelling subject, National Geographic presents a state-of the-art report on the planet itself, the technology that allows us to explore it, and the prospects for further exciting discoveries. Highlighted by an astonishing collection of more than 125 full-color photographs, MARS includes a stunning, 3-dimensional, 8-page panoramic gatefold with images that capture the genuine wonder of discovery at the Pathfinder landing site.With an authoritative text by Paul Raeburn, an award-winning science journalist, and a foreword and insightful commentary by Matt Golombek, chief scientist on the hugely successful Pathfinder mission, MARS traces the long history of our fascination with the red planet, explains the current state of Mars exploration, and interprets the amazing images transmitted across the vastness of space in clear, easy-to-understand language.As we look to a future when humans might actually explore the highest mountains and deepest valley of the solar system, this remarkable book is a dramatic, visually arresting chronicle of centuries of curiosity, decades of technical accomplishment, and the promise of years to come.

Paul Raeburn is now a senior editor at Business Week, where he directs science coverage. He spent 15 years as science editor and chief science correspondent for the Associated Press.