Packing for Mars

The Curious Science of Life in the Void

By: Mary Roach

Narrated by: Sandra Burr

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive: air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, beer. Space exploration is in some ways an exploration of what it means to be human. How much can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What happens to you when you can’t walk for a year? Have sex? Smell flowers? What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a space walk? Is it possible for the human body to survive a bailout at 17,000 miles per hour?

To answer these questions, space agencies set up all manner of quizzical and startlingly bizarre space simulations. As Mary Roach discovers, it’s possible to preview space without ever leaving Earth. From the space shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA’s new space capsule (cadaver filling in for astronaut), Roach takes us on a surreally entertaining trip into the science of life in space and space on Earth.

©2010 Mary Roach (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Terrific!

Mary Roach is smart, funny and a terrific writer. This book was as good if not better than all her others. She has a talent for science writing - explaining complicated science using clear, memorable prose. She asked all the questions of the "Everyman" and a whole lot more! She not only interviewed NASA folks but also Japanese and Russian astronauts giving a still broader view of space flight
I can't wait to see what she writes about next
Sandra Burr delivers a spot on performance as well.

The Every Day Mundane Details of Space Travel

I enjoyed this book and it's unique look at the mundane aspects of space travel. However, the title is a tad misleading as the book deals primarily with previous space missions and really speaks very little about aspect particular to a manned mars mission. While still enjoyable I would have like to hear more specifics about future mars missions.

Mary Roach does it again....

If Mary Roach releases a book, I buy it. I hadn't realised that until I had purchased this one before finishing reading the TITLE.

She did not disappoint. The book is fascinating, honest, entertaining, and FUN. And the reader does a fantastic job as well. If you liked her other stuff, get this. If you haven't read her other stuff, get this, then that. :D

So. Much. FUN!

Packing for Mars is an exceptionally fun listen; it's fast-paced and well narrated, and all in all, a great book.

It's less about Mars than it is about space travel in general, and the intricacies of day-to-day life aboard a spacecraft, and sheds a lot of light on all the things one never really thinks about when they think of astronauts.

Fascinating and Often Funny

Would you listen to Packing for Mars again? Why?

I've already replayed the section on zero-gravity toilet facilities for my son. It's very informative and also hilarious

What was one of the most memorable moments of Packing for Mars?

Well, I'd never thought about the fact that a person's internal organs are suspended in the body. Gravity significantly defines our figures. So in zero gravity, the organs tend to float upwards, leading to skinny waists and bloated upper bodies. There are lots of other things to think about, like zero-gravity bone loss or motion sickness and what to do if you vomit inside your space suit. You can't reach up and wipe your face, and with no gravity to keep the puke at the bottom of the helmet bowl, it can be a real hazard. Fascinating.

Have you listened to any of Sandra Burr’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't remember. I can say, though, that after listening to this, I was about to get "Spook," Roach's book about scientific experiments on the afterlife. Another subscriber had commented that the reader there was too heavy-handed, loading up Roach's writing with her own overdone delivery. So I didn't order that.

I think the best approach with most good books is to get out of the way and let the story tell itself. This reader did seem to enjoy the material, but she had the good sense not to get in the way.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I laughed a lot. I can't say that I was absolutely moved by Roach's concluding chapter, where she makes her case for spending more money on space exploration, but that's because it was so little poetry and so much just good solid reasoning. It left me thinking not, "This is inspirational," but "This is our job. This is what we need to put our money into, to make sure we do it right, because our future depends on it."

One of the nice things about this book is its commonsense foundation. It treats space exploration as something we are going to do, something practical, not some romantic once-in-a-lifetime movie but real, day-to-day work, carried out by human beings, something we can all have a part in. It made me think of the Vikings pushing off for Greenland, or of people like Magellan. By showing the practicalities of life in space, many of which are similar to the inconveniences and compromises and seamanship of shipboard life on the ocean, Roach helps to advance the public discussion of day-to-day space voyaging.

Any additional comments?

Very, very occasionally, Roach makes one joke or pun too many and I think to myself, "oh, come on. This is funny enough on its own." But that's a very small objection.

amazingly well done

I am very interested in all things space-related, but I hesitated to purchase this item because I've seen and read the exact same information about America's space program SO many times that I was afraid of more of the same. I think I've seen every minute of original footage with and without commentary, I've been on every space center tour more than once, went to space camp as a kid, and have read probably 50 books and autobiographies relating to America's space program. To my delight, almost every anecdote in this book is entirely new to me. It is wonderfully original and thorough and delightfully odd-ball at the same time.

Factual and funny

Like to know what happens to humans and things when they are leaving earth?
This book is full of all factual, funny and full of surprises!

Slow

Not as riveting as Stiff imo; however, could be the subject matter. I do not care about the Russian astronauts.

Absolutely Fantastic

This book is so interesting because it's the strange and interesting details about space travel that we've never considered. Excellent book, really well written and really funny at times. I enjoyed it start to finish.

not what I expected but

I thought we'd look into how we are preparing for Mars, and then I came to learn, we aren't, but should be.