cover image Trailblazing Mars: NASA's Next Giant Leap

Trailblazing Mars: NASA's Next Giant Leap

Pat Duggins, Univ. Press of Florida, $24.95 (224p) ISBN 9780813035185

Right from the start Duggins (Final Countdown) engages readers with the social context of space exploration. While the existing knowledge of Mars and the challenges of sending a human being to the red planet are the focus of the book, Duggins also provides an enjoyable, illustrated history of the space program, informing us that "The debate over the human risk and the breathtaking cost of sending astronauts to Mars... goes back even farther than the first launch of Shuttle Columbia in 1981." Readers will relive the program's tragedies, triumphs, and frustrations as Duggins details the particular challenges of life on Mars, drawing comparisons to pioneers of America's westward expansion and the scientists who spent two years in the Biosphere. From engineering fresh water to growing food in a contained, limited environment, a human trip to Mars is a complicated undertaking made more challenging by the length of the journey. With Mars exploration proposed for the 2030s, Duggins's timely and engrossing study will interest explorers and armchair astronauts alike, and remind readers of the excitement of outer space. Photos. (Sept.)