Reviews

Mars Rover Curiosity: An Inside Account from Curiosity's Chief Engineer by Rob Manning, Bronson Pinchot

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terminalfin's review against another edition

4.0

I listened to this book just after finishing Andy Weir's "The Martian". I feel this was a great follow-up to that story as it helped paint a picture of just how much of a challenge it is to send a craft to a distant planet, all while being remotely piloted from many millions of miles away.

Like other reviewers, I noticed the heavy influence of cost overruns which impacted the project from its inception. While not shocking, I would have liked more insight into the science behind each of the components aboard the craft such as SAM, DAN, or APXS. Some of these were covered in this account from Manning, but it seemed to be a lot more focused on the landing/descent stages of the craft. This is understandable, of course, as Manning was an initial member of the descent team before being appointed to the role of Chief Engineer.

I am interested to see a follow-up story for the Rover scheduled to launch in 2020. Manning did a fantastic job on this book and my only issue with it is the tech comment above. For those interested in space exploration and some of the engineering challenges facing the teams tasked with achieving these feats, I highly recommend this book.

eddiewu826's review

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informative inspiring medium-paced

4.25

nenya_kanadka's review against another edition

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5.0

Really, really fascinating, especially how the author (chief engineer for the Mars Program Office at JPL) ties in what they invented and discovered and designed for Curiosity both with the previous Mars missions (Pathfinder, Spirit, Opportunity) and with future plans for human exploration of Mars. Fantastic, detailed adventure through the complex details of getting a rover from inspiration to design to reality, from Earth to Mars.

cmzukowski's review against another edition

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5.0

I thought this book was brilliant in so many ways. It is smart and informative and even humorous at times. I will say that it is very technical and deals with a lot of science and engineering, so it may not be for people who do not have much knowledge into space exploration. I loved the insight it gave me and how it brought up things that occur when building space vehicles and rovers that I never would have thought of before. I also liked how the authors writes in a way that is not condescending, or like he thinks h is smarter than you. He wrote in a very down-to-earth manner while giving a lot of information and really teaching you about things. This book talks about the past, present, and future of space exploration and it is a fascinating read for those looking to learn more about what the space program accomplished with the Mars rover and what it hopes to accomplish in the years to come.