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Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

By llp | Posted Under Book Reviews | Comments (5)

mars.jpg

I have always been fascinated by space exploration, and it has always been my biggest dream to fly into space. That dream is equal parts unlikely and common, but it has held true for over twenty years. When my son was three, he told me he wanted to be an astronaut and gave me a sticker with a rocket ship on it, in case we needed a ticket to get on the ship. It is still stuck to my bedside lamp shade, and every day it reminds me not only of how sweet he is, but also how going into space is an adventure that excites the imagination.

Mary Roach has written an number of books about interesting topics that aren’t generally produced for the general reading public, including death (Stiff), sex (Bonk), and the afterlife (Spook). She seems to follow her intellectual curiousity into researching these subjects, and then writes accessible science-based books with a really wry sense of humour. Packing for Mars is written in the same format, and is enjoyable and compelling. It is one of the few non-fiction books I have ever read that make me want to go and read the source materials, particularly the oral histories given by astronauts.

When Roach was doing publicity for the book, much of the discussion revolved around the (admittedly interesting and funny) topic of going to the bathroom in space. I clearly remember her discussing “escapees” with Jon Stewart; imagine his delight in talking about turds floating around the cabin of a spaceship. Her appreciation for the absurdities of spaceflight is wonderful, but I am more impressed with the palpable sense of awe that she conveys when writing about the science of spaceflight and the magic of actually being in space. I also appreciate her admiration for the hard work and dedication of the astronauts, engineers, volunteers and others involved in launching people into space; Roach really focuses on the human elements of the whole process, including the nobility of the endeavour and how it is worth the enormous expense.

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void is interesting, funny, and helps to remind me of why space exploration is such a wonderful and inspiring experiment, worth both risk and expense.


For more of llp’s reviews, check out her blog, gentlyfalling.









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Comments

Thanks for this. After reading the review, and finding her interview on The Daily Show (http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart/interviews-a-z/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart---interviews-r/clip332150#clip332150), I bought the eBook version.

Posted by: Groundloop at January 23, 2011 11:38 AM

Thanks for posting the link! Here is the interview on The Daily Show website: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-august-2-2010/mary-roach

I can't access that one because of my Canadianness, but I trust it works.

Posted by: llp at January 23, 2011 11:48 AM

I'm reading Mike Mullane's Riding Rockets, based on Roach's recommendation. The very first page details his self-administered enema for NASA. He's so determined to be selected for the program that he leaves it in a full ten minutes longer than necessary because he wants his ass to be the cleanest of all the candidates.

Posted by: The Internet Magpie at January 23, 2011 11:49 AM

Packing for Mars has gotten (pardon) some shit for being lightweight on some of the science and for Roach's insertion of herself into the narrative - ignore those idiots and let them go back to Slashdot or whatever other sterile hard science fiction masturbatory obsessions they have. Her prose is pitch perfect for most everyone who doesn't spend every day of their lives thinking about space travel.

In case you're interested, NASA sometime in the last couple of years had someone finally go through and show off the interior of the ISS. If you've read Packing for Mars, you'll be equally surprised how clean parts of it are and how some of the rest looks like your bachelor pad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgBgmw-2U8c

Posted by: idiosynchronic at January 23, 2011 12:44 PM

I love Roach, but I have to wait for this to come out in softcover so that it matches the other books of hers that I own, dammit!

Posted by: dsbs at January 23, 2011 5:23 PM