Packing for Mars: the Curious Science of Life in the Void

[Kath]

Hello and apologies for the confusing way this had been set up in Goodreads!

I have to say this book was right up my alley; I love books filled with facts I find interesting and I think I shared random factoids with every friend and stranger who crossed my path this month. I have very little science background so I enjoyed how the author presents info in an easily understood way and with some humor at times. The early space pioneers are especially impressive to me going on these missions with no idea what impact the process would have on them (or even bigger, whether they could successfully come back). Kudos also to the variety of volunteers testing impacts on their bodies (or non-impact as the bed resters test) -- crazy stuff but how else would they figure it out? Endlessly fascinating to me.

Some of my favorites: the relatively quick loss of bone density in zero gravity; the "minimal personal hygiene" experiments - yuk!; any of the transcripts from space with the pilots seemingly reluctantly having to comment on use of skin lotion, condition of dandruff and laughing about "escapees" from the toilet area. I really could go on and on (and likely will) but will open the floor for other voices for awhile.

[Becky]

I am enjoying the book. Sad to say, I am only half way through. I don't mind spoilers though.

[Julie]

Loved the book. One of my favorites this year. Loved the writing style. It was quick, funny and had lots of scientific stuff. I am not a scientist but love science!!!!

[N]

I really like and appreciate Mary Roach's writing; she chooses such unique and interesting topics, and shares such fascinating tidbits, with great humor. I can sincerely say that I never thought of the day-to-day pragmatic challenges an astronaut would face, and now that I've thought about them I guess I can say for sure that I would never have succeeded in my childhood dream of being an astronaut!

[Ellen]

I started out liking this book, but then it all went south at the end when she spent too much time (IMHO) on waste and food. It was interesting for a while, but then I found it tiresome and a bit juvenile. I know this is sort of Roach's thing, so I am not sure I would like her other books. It's too bad, because I learned a lot and liked it so much up until then. I tend to think if she had only rearranged the chapters, I would have become a fan ...

[N]

Ellen, did you like the other one of hers that we read for book club, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers? I liked that one very much, and I think my favorite was Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife. I found Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal fairly fascinating, too. But definitely Spook and Stiff would be my top recommendations.

[Ellen]

I know we read Stiff, but I didn't for some reason. I probably couldn't make that meeting. So this was the first of Roach's books I ever read.

I started watching the new network show The Astronaut Wives Club as I was reading this book. It was much more focused on setting up the relationships between the wives and their husbands and between the astronauts in the early 1960s. But I couldn't help thinking of the behind the scenes stuff revealed in Roach's book :-)

[Kath]

I agree with Ellen that there was a lot of attention paid to waste and food though felt if I were to be in space for any length of time that those would likely be the most critical points of stress for me. :) Although one thing she discussed early on that I found really interesting (and wish she spent more time on) was the affect on mood and the depression that set in for some when they could no longer see the earth and felt particularly detached. And the interpersonal stresses (like the Cosmonaut fist fights) that occurred.

Also, I totally recommend Stiff as well. I wasn't here when the book club read it but found that an incredibly fascinating book. I will have to check out Spook.

[Rena]

I am surprised to say that I really enjoyed the book, although I must admit that I skimmed a good portion of it. I had never considered the sheer number of things that need to be considered in preparing for space flight. Her breezy writing style kept me interested and engaged. I might have skimmed less had I realized sooner that we were talking about it this week. I would like to read Spook now that I have read this one. Honestly though, I am in the middle of Girl on the Train which is great fun so far and it has taken most of my attention!

[Becky]

I will have to read Spook too. I do think this book snuck up on all of us.

[Ellen]

I think Kathy already mentioned the bed rest tests, but those also caught my attention. The fact that NASA paid a lot of money for this service and was so strict about keeping them flat in bed for the prescribed amount of time. With this and all throughout the book, I kept thinking "I could never do that" ... and that was just the testing :-) The parabolic flight scares the heck out of me, though I know a lot of people would love to try it. Any takers here?

[Becky]

I don't think I would like the parabolic flight. My husband said it's nickname among the military was the vomit comet. :-)

[Kath]

Ellen, I was thinking the same that there was no way I could do most of their testing (esp. the bed rest - seems almost more uncomfortable than those taking blows to the head from weighted pendulums). I'd like to try the parabolic flight because the weightlessness sounds so cool but I also fear I'd end up being one of those vomiting.

[Ellen]

I had never really thought about their existence until I saw excerpts of transcripts from the NASA missions in this book, although it makes perfect sense that they exist. It's interesting how Roach obviously combed through them and picked some relatively mundane, but interesting, parts.

It gave me a picture of the various specialists on the ground querying the astronauts about everything, including medical doctors asking about the condition of their skin. And it was funny how the astronauts would get curt or non-responsive when it was something which they were not interested in, like their skin condition.

It also made me think about the vast number of specialists whose focused research and testing fed into the space flights. Everything that would be in space had to be tested on the parabolic flights to see how it would react to weightlessness. And a lot of testing takes place on Devon Island, way up in Canada. I know NASA has cut way back compared to the early days, but I wonder how many people are still involved in research and testing for space missions?

[Becky]

I know when my husband was in the military, the members of the military sometimes looked on the civilian workers as an annoyance. I suspect the astronauts, who usually had some military background, thought of the ground specialists in this category when they asked things they thought were not of great importance. So, they did the passive aggressive thing, ignored them.

[Rena]

I think that this is what makes this author special. As Ellen said, in hindsight you knew that this sort of testing must be taking place but never thought about it. I bet Mary Roach would be an interesting person to talk to.

[N]

I wonder what topic she'll tackle next? I'll look forward to it.

[Kath]

Me too, Nancy. :) Thanks, everyone, for the good conversation this week. Our next book discussion will be in September on All the Light We Cannot See.

We are thinking of having an in-person coffee meeting sometime in the summer for those interested in getting acquainted in person. We will also be soliciting ideas in the near future for what we should read and discuss in October and beyond. Stay tuned!

[Becky]

That sounds very nice. Looking forward to it.