Seismology Across the Solar System

The space age began with geophysics, at least officially. When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, it was declared a contribution to the International Geophysical Year – as was the US American Vanguard satellite project, approved in 1955. At that time, scientists like Harold Jeffreys or Keith Edward Bullen, well known for their contributions to seismology, were already exploring the interior structure of terrestrial planets using astrometric and geodetic methods. The upcoming possibilities to actually take measurements on the surfaces of these planets not only supported, but revolutionized this research. The following pages give a brief summary of the projects and the results of seismological experiments throughout the solar system, from wary first steps to carefully orchestrated campaigns and future opportunities. We will, however, leave the fruitful field of helioseismology aside, which is based on very different methods of observation and interpretation.