Andrew is a former nurse and GP practice manager. His career trajectory from the sterile, high-pressure environment of a hospital ward to the introspective world of writing has given him a unique perspective that resonates deeply with readers worldwide.

Preface; Acknowledgements; Part I. Engineering Issues Specific to Entry Probes, Landers or Penetrators: 1. Mission goals and system engineering; 2. Accommodation, launch, cruise and arrival from orbit or interplanetary trajectory; 3. Entering atmospheres; 4. Descent through an atmosphere; 5. Descent to an airless body; 6. Planetary balloons, aircraft, submarines and cryobots; 7. Arrival at a surface; 8. Thermal control of landers and entry probes; 9. Power systems; 10. Communication and tracking of entry probes; 11. Radiation environment; 12. Surface activities: arms, drills, moles and mobility; 13. Structures; 14. Contamination of spacecraft and planets; Part II. Previous Atmosphere/Surface Vehicles and Their Payloads: 15. Destructive impact probes; 16. Atmospheric entry probes; 17. Pod landers; 18. Legged landers; 19. Payload delivery penetrators; 20. Small body surface missions; Part III. 'Case Studies': 21. Surveyor landers; 22. Galileo probe; 23. Huygens; 24. Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner; 25. Deep Space 2 Mars microprobes; 26. Rosetta lander Philae; 27. Mars exploration rovers: Spirit and Opportunity; Appendix: Some key parameters for bodies in the Solar System; List of acronyms; Bibliography; References; Index.