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driveupstate's review against another edition
funny
informative
3.5
working at nasa must be a hell of a ride
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
3.0
Bullet Review:
Huh. Not quite what I was expecting - more a "look at all these weird things in space" than anything close to a checklist of things necessary for a Mars mission. And those weird things seem to focus A LOT on bodily functions.
I wish we spent more time on how bad the food was, how hard it would be to store enough food and oxygen and more about the psychology of long duration flights. And less time on space poos.
Full Review:
I will try to do a full review, though I don't really know if that's gonna work.
I fell in love with all things space at the ripe old age of 11. I found a science textbook talking about space and started planning out my future like teenaged girls stereotypically plan out weddings. I would go to college and get my master's in aerospace engineering (learning Russian alongside it) then work at NASA where they would assign me as a mission specialist on a mission to Mars. I even had my little script of what I would say on Mars planned out. (In addition, I would fall in love with this equally smart guy who supported me and went along with me on the mission to keep me company.) I predicted all this would happen - well, now.
Obviously, life does NOT go like you plan at 11. I'm not stepping on Mars reciting my fabulously eloquent lines about how awesome it is to step on Mars, I don't work for NASA, and I didn't learn Russian (I know, I'm sad about that one too).
But I still have a soft spot for Mars. I still desperately want humans to reach out and go to Mars - even if it makes more economic and scientific sense to send robots. There is just something awesome about a group of people banding together for a peaceful goal that I love. It's what I pretend was going on during the American Lunar missions; I like to think something like this could still happen today, amidst the stupid Real Housewives reality shows and Adam Sandler's latest insult to humanity.
Mary Roach's "Packing for Mars" hinted that it might look at all the details needed to go to Mars. Well, the title anyway - the cover blurb makes it a bit more clear it's just about all the weird things in space that we take for granted on Earth.
And that's primarily what "Packing for Mars" is - a book about the strange way we work in space. Psychologically, biologically, and...biologically. Don't get me wrong, there was some fascinating stuff in here, about how people react in closed quarters to another person for extended time, about not bathing, about sexual relations in space, about eating squares of condensed food and what that does to your bowels, about urinating, about pooing...
Okay, okay, there is a LOT about body functions here. A LOT. Did you wonder how astronauts poo? It's here. Did you want to see the evolution of the space toilet? It's here. Did you want to get into the analysis of a stream of urine? Yup, here also. How about dead skin and the stench after not bathing for 2 weeks and wearing a suit? Yuppers.
And yet, I'm surprised we didn't discuss more about the massive engineering feat it would be to store enough food and water and oxygen for a THREE YEAR voyage to Mars.
I feel that Mary Roach spent SO MUCH time on all the "gross parts" of space flight, she really didn't touch enough on the parts I wanted - what is growing food in space like? Is it viable? How about storing food? Storing "souvenirs" from Mars? What does radiation do? I don't even know, it's just I felt the overwhelming take-away, at the end of the book is just going to the bathroom is gross and dehumanizing and I want to take a 4 hour shower.
Roach has a humorous, yet educated tone, which I appreciated. It also was a breeze to read this. But I am knocking down from my initial 4 stars rating because I realized that I have been thinking of this book as "It's okay" not "really liked it".
It's a decent book with some interesting information, don't get me wrong. It's just not really what I expected/wanted to read about - a disappointment, because I've been pretty much ecstatic about reading this from the moment I saw it debut in hard cover. To wait so long until I am on vacation reading only books I WANT to read just to find it was "Okay"? Disappointing just doesn't cut it.
Huh. Not quite what I was expecting - more a "look at all these weird things in space" than anything close to a checklist of things necessary for a Mars mission. And those weird things seem to focus A LOT on bodily functions.
I wish we spent more time on how bad the food was, how hard it would be to store enough food and oxygen and more about the psychology of long duration flights. And less time on space poos.
Full Review:
I will try to do a full review, though I don't really know if that's gonna work.
I fell in love with all things space at the ripe old age of 11. I found a science textbook talking about space and started planning out my future like teenaged girls stereotypically plan out weddings. I would go to college and get my master's in aerospace engineering (learning Russian alongside it) then work at NASA where they would assign me as a mission specialist on a mission to Mars. I even had my little script of what I would say on Mars planned out. (In addition, I would fall in love with this equally smart guy who supported me and went along with me on the mission to keep me company.) I predicted all this would happen - well, now.
Obviously, life does NOT go like you plan at 11. I'm not stepping on Mars reciting my fabulously eloquent lines about how awesome it is to step on Mars, I don't work for NASA, and I didn't learn Russian (I know, I'm sad about that one too).
But I still have a soft spot for Mars. I still desperately want humans to reach out and go to Mars - even if it makes more economic and scientific sense to send robots. There is just something awesome about a group of people banding together for a peaceful goal that I love. It's what I pretend was going on during the American Lunar missions; I like to think something like this could still happen today, amidst the stupid Real Housewives reality shows and Adam Sandler's latest insult to humanity.
Mary Roach's "Packing for Mars" hinted that it might look at all the details needed to go to Mars. Well, the title anyway - the cover blurb makes it a bit more clear it's just about all the weird things in space that we take for granted on Earth.
And that's primarily what "Packing for Mars" is - a book about the strange way we work in space. Psychologically, biologically, and...biologically. Don't get me wrong, there was some fascinating stuff in here, about how people react in closed quarters to another person for extended time, about not bathing, about sexual relations in space, about eating squares of condensed food and what that does to your bowels, about urinating, about pooing...
Okay, okay, there is a LOT about body functions here. A LOT. Did you wonder how astronauts poo? It's here. Did you want to see the evolution of the space toilet? It's here. Did you want to get into the analysis of a stream of urine? Yup, here also. How about dead skin and the stench after not bathing for 2 weeks and wearing a suit? Yuppers.
And yet, I'm surprised we didn't discuss more about the massive engineering feat it would be to store enough food and water and oxygen for a THREE YEAR voyage to Mars.
I feel that Mary Roach spent SO MUCH time on all the "gross parts" of space flight, she really didn't touch enough on the parts I wanted - what is growing food in space like? Is it viable? How about storing food? Storing "souvenirs" from Mars? What does radiation do? I don't even know, it's just I felt the overwhelming take-away, at the end of the book is just going to the bathroom is gross and dehumanizing and I want to take a 4 hour shower.
Roach has a humorous, yet educated tone, which I appreciated. It also was a breeze to read this. But I am knocking down from my initial 4 stars rating because I realized that I have been thinking of this book as "It's okay" not "really liked it".
It's a decent book with some interesting information, don't get me wrong. It's just not really what I expected/wanted to read about - a disappointment, because I've been pretty much ecstatic about reading this from the moment I saw it debut in hard cover. To wait so long until I am on vacation reading only books I WANT to read just to find it was "Okay"? Disappointing just doesn't cut it.
mchester24's review against another edition
5.0
Mary Roach has long established herself as one of the most entertaining reads in pop-science type investigation books, though this is the first book of hers I've picked up. The best review I can give is that after I flew through this book, the rest of her library is now on my to-do list. This book pulls back the curtain and highlights the very 'human' elements of space travel-- everything you would have wanted to ask an astronaut when you were in elementary or middle school (how do you go to the bathroom? what do you have to eat? what about the birds and the bees?), and investigates them in a very fun and informative way. Highly recommended, and I can't wait to dive into more of Roach's books.
redowns1022's review against another edition
4.0
Although at times I think I got a little too much information about how to deal with basic bodily functions in space, a very enjoyable and educational read. I love a science author who knows how to write a book for those of us who stopped taking sceince classes as soon as possible. I never wanted to be an astronaut, but now even more so. However, I do have great appreciation for the mad-scientists who figure out how to live as close to a normal life as possible in the most unnatural of environments.
gossamerwingedgazelle's review against another edition
5.0
Quick, interesting, and fun! I heartily recommend this book.
siu_rose's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.75
So fun! My first book by this author; I love her style and I love learning things about space travel so this was great. And hilarious. While also having real researched information. I would have liked seeing more of the big picture of Mars travel planning - this really gets into the tiny details - but those details are also what make it so interesting. Will definitely read more of her books!
bhnmt61's review against another edition
4.0
Many of the low reviews for this book mention that it doesn’t live up to its title, and there is some truth to that— very little is said about preparing for an actual flight to Mars. It is more a history of how scientists figured out how human beings can survive in space.
But as Roach points out in the final chapter, all of our work on space flight (and by “our” I mean the global science community, not me, since I am the wordiest of word nerds and science is not my thing) is just one step after another on the way to the next accomplishment in space, and at the moment, that happens to be getting to Mars. I found this book to be engaging and amusing, and more than once had to stifle giggles so as not to wake my sleeping spouse. Everything you ever wanted to know about the everyday details of what it’s liKe to be in space. It’s not the kind of book I would pick up to read start to finish, but every time I did pick it up, I enjoyed it.
But as Roach points out in the final chapter, all of our work on space flight (and by “our” I mean the global science community, not me, since I am the wordiest of word nerds and science is not my thing) is just one step after another on the way to the next accomplishment in space, and at the moment, that happens to be getting to Mars. I found this book to be engaging and amusing, and more than once had to stifle giggles so as not to wake my sleeping spouse. Everything you ever wanted to know about the everyday details of what it’s liKe to be in space. It’s not the kind of book I would pick up to read start to finish, but every time I did pick it up, I enjoyed it.
heathercottledillon's review against another edition
4.0
When I was a kid, I was obsessed with outer space and convinced that I had to be an astronaut when I grew up. Then I got older and realized that I suck at math, can't sit still (no cramped space shuttles for me), and definitely wouldn't pass all the psychological tests you have to take to demonstrate that you wouldn't go nuts if they chucked you of the planet. So I gave up the dream, but I definitely stayed interested in the universe beyond Earth. Therefore I was pumped when we picked "Packing for Mars" for book club, and it did not disappoint. It's the perfect science book for me: tons of facts and interesting tidbits, but not too much jargon and just the right amount of detail. And lots of humor. There's quite a bit of the bathroom variety, so beware if you don't care for that kind of thing.
Roach is an insanely dedicated writer. I can't imagine how long it took her to dig all these juicy tidbits out of secretive NASA. I'm certainly glad she did, though. Here are a few of my favorite pieces of information included in this book (warning: they get progressively more gross as the list goes on):
Astronauts, on average, are 2.5 inches taller in space than on earth.
A consultant once argued that NASA should send obese people into space and let them live off their fat for the duration of the trip, up to weeks at a time, to save food costs and storage space.
In space, you don’t know you have to go to the bathroom until the last minute because pee literally floats around the sides of your bladder instead of pushing against the bottom as it fills.
There is no size “small” size for the condom-style urine collection device inside space suits. There is large, extra large, and extra-extra large. The designers discovered that few male astronauts wanted to choose the so-called small ones, which resulted in some ill-fitting devices and bad messes.
There are still urine and feces samples from astronauts of the Skylab and Apollo eras in freezers at Houston’s Johnson Space Center.
Roach is an insanely dedicated writer. I can't imagine how long it took her to dig all these juicy tidbits out of secretive NASA. I'm certainly glad she did, though. Here are a few of my favorite pieces of information included in this book (warning: they get progressively more gross as the list goes on):
Astronauts, on average, are 2.5 inches taller in space than on earth.
A consultant once argued that NASA should send obese people into space and let them live off their fat for the duration of the trip, up to weeks at a time, to save food costs and storage space.
In space, you don’t know you have to go to the bathroom until the last minute because pee literally floats around the sides of your bladder instead of pushing against the bottom as it fills.
There is no size “small” size for the condom-style urine collection device inside space suits. There is large, extra large, and extra-extra large. The designers discovered that few male astronauts wanted to choose the so-called small ones, which resulted in some ill-fitting devices and bad messes.
There are still urine and feces samples from astronauts of the Skylab and Apollo eras in freezers at Houston’s Johnson Space Center.
arjohnson5623's review against another edition
5.0
Curious science indeed. From bowel movements in zero-g to the science of body odor, Mary Roach delves into the less glamorous parts of space travel that, quite frankly, make our astronauts and the scientists that work with them all the more heroic. I laughed at times until I cried with this book, and can't recommend it more highly for the amateur space geek.