'Packing For Mars' by Mary Roach

Packing For Mars, Mary Roach (3)

‘Packing for Mars’ is Ms. Roach’s most recent non-fiction book, which mixes humor and science.  Her earlier books include ‘Stiff’ (dying and cadavers), ‘Bonk’ (sex), and ‘Spook’ (the afterlife) all covering the subjects from a science perspective with a light-hearted voice.  This book looks back on the preparations and issues concerning putting people in space while looking forward towards the new challenges of preparing to put humans on Mars.  Her first lines prepare you for the issues she will cover: ‘To the rocket scientist, you are a problem. You are the most irritating piece of machinery he or she will ever have to deal with.  You and your fluctuating metabolism, your puny memory, your frame that comes in a million different configurations.’  Most of the book is peppered with interesting and funny tidbits about NASA and the various space programs (i.e. Gemini, Apollo).  Several chapters should not be read while eating (Chapter 6: Throwing Up and Down, The Astronaut’s Secret Misery and Chapter 14: Separation Anxiety, The Continuing Saga of Zero-Gravity Elimination to name two).  While quite gross, they did have some laugh out loud moments.  I did think that she dwelt on the smelly and unseemly a bit too much and I lost track of the goal (getting ready for Mars) part way through.  She did wrap it up nicely at the end with an argument for a Mars space program, that all us science-bent people would like!