Packing for Mars

W.W. Norton & Company

Packing for Mars
Mary Roach
2010

The Summary
"Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive:  air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, beer.  Space exploration is in some ways an exploration of what it means to be human.  How much can a person give up?  How much weirdness can they take?  What happens when you can't walk for a year?  have sex?  smell flowers?  What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a spacewalk?  Is it possible for the human body to survive a bailout from space?  To answer these questions, space agencies set up all manner of quizzical and startlingly bizarre space simulations.  As Mary Roach discovers, it's possible to preview space without ever leaving Earth.  From the Space Shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA's new space capsule (cadaver filling in for astronaut), Roach takes us on a surreally entertaining trip into the science of life in space and space on Earth."

The Good
After hearing about Mary Roach's book through the reader grapevine, I was absolutely fascinated by the idea of space travel to Mars.  Since I fell in love with The Martian by Andy Weir, I've been intrigued by Mars and outer space more than ever.  (That's part of the reason I slogged through How to Read the Solar System--and, you know, why I've been so inexplicably excited to start on John Carter of Mars.)

And I wasn't disappointed.

Packing for Mars is a fun and insightful science book.  Truthfully, it reminds me of Bill Nye:  humorous, but informative.  Roach makes science approachable and, dare I say it, fun.  Her writing is easy to read, yet she doesn't compromise facts or treat her reader as a big dummy for not understanding the intricacies of space.  Moreover, it gives you answers to questions that you never even knew you had.

Want to know what happens to a fuse when it's shot into space?  (Answer:  If a fuse blows in space, it fries everything; it's why they had to invent the transistor.)  Want to know what happens if you lay in bed for days on end with very little movement?  Want to know what happens to the human body when it meets lower-than-normal gravity?  Roach has answers to all these questions and more, and she does it with some highly humorous musings.

Overall, I found to Packing for Mars to be highly informative, incredibly rewarding--and lots of fun.

The Bad
I admit, I did sometimes lose interest in Packing for Mars.  Sometimes, I just wasn't interested in the subjects and I couldn't keep my mind focused enough on the trials and tribulations of animal test flights, or some other such thing; however, I think that's more my failing, rather than some grievous fault with Roach's book.

The Ugly
Porn.  In space.

For some reason, I was perturbed by the entire concept.  It bothered me, more than I'd like to admit, and I found myself in for some highly awkward reading.