Stamping the Earth from Space

This unique book presents a historical and philatelic survey of Earth exploration from space. It covers all areas of research in which artificial satellites have contributed in designing a new image of our planet and its environment: the atmosphere and ionosphere, the magnetic field, radiation belts and the magnetosphere, weather, remote sensing, mapping of the surface, observation of the oceans and marine environments, geodesy, and the study of life and ecological systems. Stamping the Earth from Space presents the results obtained with the thousands of satellites launched by the two former superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States, and also those of the many missions carried out by the ESA, individual European countries, Japan, China, India, and the many emerging space nations. Beautifully illustrated, it contains almost 1100 color reproductions of philatelic items. In addition to topical stamps and thematic postal documents, the book provides an extensive review of  astrophilatelic items. The most important space missions are documented through event covers and cards canceled at launch sites, tracking stations, research laboratories, and mission control facilities.

Born in Italy in 1950, Renato Dicati has cultivated since childhood a love for astronomy and an interest in space. In 1975 he graduated in Astrophysics at the University of Milan. After an interesting experience as a teacher in public schools, he has worked for 30 years at IBM Italy, dealing with education, training, and communications based on the use of information technology and multimedia. Over the last twenty years he has dedicated much of his free time to science. He has organized philatelic exhibitions on the history of astronomy and astronautics and has published numerous books and articles on astronomy, space exploration, and thematic philately. Renato Dicati is a member of AS.IT.AF (the Italian Astrophilately Society) and serves on the Board of Directors of USFI (Italian Philatelic Press Union). His activities include volunteering at ASPHI, a non-profit foundation that promotes the integration of people with disabilities in school, at work, and in society through the use of information communication technology. He published Stamping Through Astronomy with Springer in 2013.