How does your cell phone know where you are right now? How is our planet changing due to geodynamic processes and ongoing climate change? How can these changes be precisely measured from space in order to obtain reliable information about the melting of ice sheets or the threat to coastal regions from rising sea levels? This popular science book provides answers to these and many other socially relevant questions. It is aimed at interested nonprofessionals who want to learn more about our fascinating planet, but also at experts in natural sciences. You are taken on an exciting journey through time from the first surveys in ancient times to the satellite era, which is providing us with a global view of our home planet. Illustrative examples demonstrate how deeply global positioning and navigation with satellites pervade our daily life, and what fundamental contributions geodesy makes to understanding the Earth system and determining the effects of climate change. With interview contributions by Günter Hein, Harald Lesch and Stefan Rahmstorf. This book is a translation of the original German 1st edition Mission Erde by Detlef Angermann et al., published by Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature in 2021. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). Content and language were subsequently revised by the authors. Springer Nature works continuously to further the development of tools for the production of books and on the related technologies to support the authors.

Kinky killers. Exploding speedboats. $2 billion paternity suits. It’s love Voltarian-style . . . and planet Earth is feeling the heat. Voltarian Royal Officer Jettero Heller will go to any length to protect his beloved Countess Krak. He’ll race up the eastern seaboard pursued by the entire Coast Guard. He’ll smash boats, he’ll set off bombs, he’ll fight off every paternity suit that comes his way. . . . But Apparatus Officer Soltan Gris is just as determined to put the Countess out of commission—for good—and he’s found the perfect hit man for the job. Well, almost perfect. This particular Torpedo has one little kink. He takes a bit of an unhealthy interest in his victims . . . after he kills them. And as if Gris didn’t have enough on his plate, wedding bells are ringing. The Voltarian stud is about to tie the knot—with two women! Yes, love is a battlefield. But in this warped war of twisted desires, perverse passions and unholy alliances—the entire Mission Earth enterprise could soon morph into a truly decadent DEATH QUEST. “Remember how you felt the first time you saw Star Wars? This book will do it to you again.” —Orson Scott Card

Earth is rising in the House of Voltar . . . And there’ll be hell to pay! That’s right. The invasion is on . . . and it’s coming soon to a galaxy near you. The action couldn’t be hotter, and the plot couldn’t be more diabolical. Earth is coming to Voltar—and the Voltarians won’t know what hit them. Murder, blackmail, drugs, psychoanalysis, PR firms, sex-crazed teenyboppers, riots in the streets, women in chains. These are the powerful secret weapons of war—perfected on Earth and imported to Voltar—which are now being exploited by the ruthless Lombar Hisst, chief of the Coordinated Information Apparatus (the infamous CIA). His obsession: total domination of the Voltarian Confederacy. Can anyone stop the madness? Does anyone have the courage and charisma to crash this party? Enter Royal Officer of the Fleet, Jettero Heller. Dodging Death Battalions and death warrants, he’s racing from Earth to face the challenge. But Hisst has taken Heller’s beautiful sister hostage, and she may be the one who has to pay the ultimate price of VILLAINY VICTORIOUS. “A superlative storyteller with total mastery of plot and pacing.” —Publishers Weekly

The end is near! The Voltarian terrorists have won! Earth is history! But don’t believe everything you read. Or hear. Or see. Because the road to victory is paved with bad intentions—and lies, betrayal and deception are all in play. So who are the players in this treacherous game . . . ? Countess Krak: victim of a spectacular kidnapping, she is bound for a distant dungeon where she faces a venomous fate. . . . Royal Officer Jettero Heller: convinced the Countess is dead and overcome by grief, he is holed up in a Connecticut roadhouse—and standing square in an assassin’s crosshairs. . . . Soltan Gris: together with a young temptress named Teenie Whopper, he undertakes a drug-fueled voyage across the Atlantic. But the journey’s about to be cut short, as he goes from getting stoned with Teenie to nearly getting stoned to death in Turkey. . . . So who is in command? Who is the puppet master pulling the strings? And, finally, is there any hope for planet Earth? The answers lie at the end of an extraordinary VOYAGE OF VENGEANCE. “The Mission Earth books form a true saga—in the grand tradition!” —Robert Bloch, Author of Psycho

The Voltarian invaders are getting down and dirty . . . in the deadliest of games. The price: Planet Earth. Voltarian Royal Officer Jettero Heller has heart, nerve and a quick mind on his side. His archenemy Soltan Gris has cunning, ruthlessness and a devious plan on his. But what neither of them has is money—and without that they may as well pack up and go back to Voltar. Because as every earthling knows—no pay, no play. Heller’s solution is a weekend in Atlantic City, where he puts a new spin on gambling. He’s got a foolproof system, guaranteeing that he’ll win every bet he makes. Into this world of dirty money, dirty tricks and dirty games, the wildest of wild cards is about to change everything. Countess Krak is back—and this voluptuous Voltarian, condemned murderess and love of Heller’s life could prove to be the key player in coming to grips with a FORTUNE OF FEAR. “The adventure, colored by broad strokes of satire, is written with a vigor.” —Publishers Weekly

Earthlings: Beware! Do you know who your enemies are? Your neighbor? Your boss? Your butcher? Your wife? Only the Voltarians know for sure. They’ve successfully infiltrated our little world—and it may never be the same. They walk among us. They work among us. And they’re making themselves right at home, prepping the planet for a power play unlike any you’ve ever seen before. In this web of espionage, intrigue and betrayal, even Voltarian Royal Combat Engineer Jettero Heller doesn’t know who he can trust. He’s hard at work creating a gasoline substitute to fuel his ’68 Caddy in a Long Island automobile race—a development that could have dramatic consequences for the entire human race. As such, he poses a grave threat to the powers that be. Now, his treacherous fellow Voltarian, Soltan Gris, has formed a secret alliance with a cabal that includes a dirty DC politician, a ruthless billionaire industrialist and a mysterious media madman. Their mission: terminate Jettero Heller. Beset by double-crossing body doubles and backstabbing identity shifters, Heller discovers that the most dangerous battle of all is about to begin . . . against THE ENEMY WITHIN. “A must buy.” —American Library Association

Fasten your seatbelts. Mission Earth is approaching climax . . . And it will rock your world! Who will control Voltar? What is Earth’s ultimate fate? And what is the big mystery? The wait is over. Powerful forces are on the move. Entire planets hang in the balance. The moment of truth is finally at hand—and it’s a real blast! In the middle of it all stands Royal Officer of the Fleet, Jettero Heller, a man determined to save both Voltar and Earth from extinction. Together with an outlaw emperor and an army one hundred thousand strong, Heller lays siege to Palace City, which has fallen into the depraved and diabolical hands of Lombar Hisst. But the success of Heller’s great adventure is far from a sure thing. For in order to achieve victory, he will not only have to break the laws of Voltar—but defy the laws of physics. Here is your ticket to travel beyond the boundaries of space and time. Experience the unfolding mysteries, the violent pleasures and the biting, inescapable truths you can only find in the final reckoning of THE DOOMED PLANET. “Marvelous satire by a master of adventure.” —Anne McCaffrey

The Voltar Confederacy has a long-range strategy to invade Earth and use it in their conquest of the Galaxy. However, with the discovery that Earth is being destroyed by incessant pollution, Royal Officer Jettero Heller is sent on a top-secret mission to handle this threat to the planet's life. But why is Lombar Hisst, head of the Apparatus, Voltar’s deadly intelligence agency, determined to sabotage the mission and see it fail? Can Heller possibly succeed or will he fall into the web of intergalactic intrigue spun by Hisst and his devious henchman, Soltan Gris? Find out as you embark on this mission full of dynamic characters and packed with plenty of twists, action and emotion. “The adventure, colored by broad strokes of satire, is written with a vigor.”—Publishers Weekly

Earth does not exist. . . . Or so they want you to believe. Who are they? What do they want? And who do they think they are? They are the Voltarians of Voltar—an empire 110 planets strong. They are already among us. And the invasion is about to begin . . . in a hundred years or so. Or is it? The truth is far more sinister. Undercover, underground and out of sight, the invaders plan what may in fact be a massive diversion. In the darkest recesses of Voltar’s Coordinated Information Apparatus (otherwise known as the CIA), a tyrant of terror sets out to exploit the invasion in order to seize power. All that stands in his way is a planet that doesn’t exist. Discover a world where corporations rule and political corruption is rife. Where governments are driven by oil and controlled by drugs. Where global warming is getting hotter by the minute . . . and a scorching love affair could determine the fate of millions. Where a cosmic conspiracy is about to hit home and the intergalactic intrigue knows no bounds. They call it Blito-P3. We call it Earth. You can’t afford to look the other way. It’s the end of the world as you know it . . . and the beginning of one of the most spectacular, thought-provoking, and wildly inventive works of science fiction and espionage of our time “You will lose sleep. You will miss appointments. If you don’t force yourself to set it down and talk to your family from time to time, you may be looking for a new place to live. Reading The Invaders Plan is simply the most fun you can have by yourself.” —Orson Scott Card