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A review by sternenstaub
The Mars Challenge: The Past, Present, and Future of Human Spaceflight by Benjamin A. Wilgus
3.0
This title gives a very detailed scientific exploration of the challenges facing any potential manned mission to Mars, from launching astronauts into space and landing on Mars to bringing them back home.
The central focus of the story is a dialogue that takes place between a mission control officer, Ellie, and a teenage girl, Nadia, who hopes to someday be an astronaut on a Mars mission. The characters build a decent rapport, mixing in humor and banter among what can often be tough to understand concepts.
The illustrations are helpful in visualizing the different tech and conceptual physics involved in spaceflight, and in case you forget any of the many acronyms and scientific terms, a glossary is included in the back of the volume. It is the graphic nature of this title that makes or breaks it - the format is just more accessible than reading the same material in a textbook style.
Not every reader will have the patience to see this graphic novel through, but those who want to understand the real-world science behind some of their favorite science fiction will find this title extremely informative.
There is nothing to keep this book out of the hands of a middle school reader other than the density of information presented. It's a lot to handle in one sitting, even for an adult.
Digital ARC provided by Netgalley.
The central focus of the story is a dialogue that takes place between a mission control officer, Ellie, and a teenage girl, Nadia, who hopes to someday be an astronaut on a Mars mission. The characters build a decent rapport, mixing in humor and banter among what can often be tough to understand concepts.
The illustrations are helpful in visualizing the different tech and conceptual physics involved in spaceflight, and in case you forget any of the many acronyms and scientific terms, a glossary is included in the back of the volume. It is the graphic nature of this title that makes or breaks it - the format is just more accessible than reading the same material in a textbook style.
Not every reader will have the patience to see this graphic novel through, but those who want to understand the real-world science behind some of their favorite science fiction will find this title extremely informative.
There is nothing to keep this book out of the hands of a middle school reader other than the density of information presented. It's a lot to handle in one sitting, even for an adult.
Digital ARC provided by Netgalley.