Archive for the ‘Space Book Reviews’ Category
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August 2nd, 2026
Meet the Neighbors – Life on Mars and How to Find It by Steven A. Benner; Allen Lane, (an imprint of Penguin Books); July 2026; 416 pages (Hardcover); $40.99 (Amazon).
Talk about a “cold case” – nothing like dealing with life on Mars where the temperature can drop like a rock to roughly – 89°C at night. But that’s just one factor when thinking about is or isn’t there life on Mars today.
Twin NASA spacecraft Mars missions were launched in the 1970’s: a Viking 1 lander planted its legs on the terrain of Chryse Planitia on July 20, 1976, with the Viking 2 lander touching down months later at Utopia Planitia on September 3. Both asked a key question: Is there life on Mars?
Among their duties, the dual landers scooped up the first soil samples of Mars and deposited those precious collectibles into onboard, specialized equipment. To answer their query about life on the Red Planet, Viking scientists had tightly boxed up their cares and woes and sent that science gear to probe that issue.
Here’s the Red Planet rub. After interpreting all the Viking mission call backs: a majority consensus of scientists at the time was that Viking relayed a “no life on Mars” result.
However, is it possible that the two robots actually radioed back a very clear comeback: “Can you repeat the question?’’
Thought provoking chapters
Steven A. Benner is a chemist, synthetic biologist, paleogenetist, and astrobiologist – and author of this exemplary tale and head spinning volume.
You must read this book – a trite saying, but important to emphasize that point to space groupies, chemists, biologists, geologists, historians, philosophers, and scientific soothsayers.
There are those that might get bogged down in a chapter. No worries, Benner adds, skip to the next. Each chapter comes with a bullet point list of conclusions.
The book supplies witty and wonderful thought-provoking chapters, such as: “Our Place in the Cosmos,” “How ‘Yes Life’ Became ‘No Life’”; “Seeking Extant Martian Life Remained . . .Low Priority”; “The Motivational Logic of Exploration” to “The Origins of Life. A Solution”; “How Martian Life Might Survive” and the clarion chapter call “Astrobiologists of the World, Unite!”
In the past, missions to Mars might “follow the water.” They might assess “habitability.” They might even look for signs of ancient Martian life, says Brenner.
But now missions to seek extant life on Mars have been off the table. What’s going wrong here?
Image credit: Meet the Neighbors/Benner
Big questions
Importantly, this book also tells another story generated from Viking. It illustrates how actual scientists manage research that addresses “big questions.”
“For Viking, anomalous results that might have led to a back-and-forth discussion to correct mistakes in interpretations were rationalized away,” the author suggests. Benner provides examples of how fact and logic can prove less important than “culture” in a community of scientists.
Benner writes that the results of the Viking mission can all be explained by bacterial autotrophs that respire with stored oxygen on Mars (BARSOOMS). BARSOOM is the acronym for a Bacterial Autotrophthat Respires using Stored Oxygen.
“It is hard to not be enthusiastic about the results delivered by the Viking landers,” Benner writes. “Yes, with more money and more payload, more experiments could have been done. The conclusions might have been made more secure. But to repurpose a lyric from Meat Loaf, three out of three ain’t bad.”
Benner writes: “You might think therefore that the community would have changed its consensus opinion. You might think that the community would have had a collective Aha! moment. You might think that the search for extant life on Mars would be back on the table. You would be wrong,” he explains.
Propositions
Yes, science is hard, explains Benner, “especially for ape descendants.” Still, advocacy has a logic. “For extant Martian life, we can break that logic into propositions that we can examine individually,” the author suggests.
— Life arose on Mars
— Life survived on Mars
— We know how to identify any extant life that we will encounter on Mars
— We know where to access places on Mars where any extant life survives
From Benner there’s a call to action: “Astrobiologists of the world, unite! Do risky things. Seek to answer big questions. You have nothing to lose, and a world (Mars) to win.”
For more information on this landmark book, go to:
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/477954/meet-the-neighbors-by-benner-steven-a/9780241808306
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Image credit: NASA OIG
NASA Office of Inspector General (NASA OIG) reports that spaceflight is surging, but NASA’s primary launch sites are dated and approaching operating capacity.
This new OIG report assessed the infrastructure at Kennedy Space Center and Wallops Flight Facility, and the Agency’s ability to meet growing mission needs.
Read the report at:
Also, go to this OIG video at:
Book Review: Dinner with an Astronaut: Serving Space Stories: Past, Present and Future by Leroy Chiao with Victoria Bruce; Harper Collins/Hanover Square Press; June 2026; 256 pages (Hardcover); $32.99.
Leroy Chiao, one of the first Asian American astronauts in history, details his notable path into space. Chiao was selected by NASA as one of twenty-three members of the thirteenth U.S. astronaut group.
Divided into four parts – Hors D’Oeuvres, Appetizers, Main Course, and Dessert – the former astronaut provides food for thought via various questions, such as when did he first know he wanted to be an astronaut to his biggest disappointment from space traveling, along with his expectations concerning the future of human spaceflight.
Chiao flew space missions involving the U.S. Space Shuttle, Russia’s Soyuz, the International Space Station (ISS), and on spacewalks in both US and Russian spacesuits, and served as the commander of the ISS.
Sharing the wonders of space with those of us on Earth, Leroy details his astronaut training and otherworldly spaceflights.
Chiao and Bruce have written an inspiring, entertaining and witty account of what space exploration means and the perseverance it takes to depart the planet – and for Chiao that happened multiple times.
A great read from one of America’s most talented space explorers.
For more details on the book, along with a sample read and audio sample, go to:
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/dinner-with-an-astronaut-leroy-chiao?variant=44270251147298
NASA’s Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute (S3VI) has released the 2026 Small Spacecraft Technology State-of-the-Art report.
This report provides an extensive overview and assessment of the state-of-the-art (SoA) for smallspacecraft technologies publicly available as of April 2026.
The report flags the fact that the pace of SmallSat technology advancement overall is rapidly accelerating.
“Recent developments in small satellite technologies reflect a broader shift from experimental, low-cost platforms toward highly capable, mission-flexible systems that can operate across increasingly demanding environments,” the report notes. “Advances in materials science, power systems, avionics, and communications are collectively enabling this transition.”
Major trend
One of the most critical enabling areas is energy storage and power management. A major trend in spacecraft technology is the push toward high-performance avionics capable of supporting autonomy, edge processing, and machine learning.
“In summary, small satellite technologies are undergoing a significant transformation driven by advances in materials, power systems, avionics, and communications, alongside evolving market demands,” the report explains. “These developments are enabling a new class of spacecraft that bridge the gap between traditional CubeSats and larger satellites, opening the door to more ambitious missions in Earth orbit and beyond.”
To access this highly readable, informative and reference-rich State-of-the-Art Small Spacecraft Technology report, go to:
https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/soa-2026.pdf?emrc=d75388
Space-based data centers would place data processing and storage systems for AI and other computing needs into satellites.
This could reduce the land, electricity, and water needed for data centers on Earth.
Several companies have begun development of data centers in space, but there are engineering and economic barriers to deployment.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a new Science & Tech Spotlight report: Data Centers in Space.
Key Takeaways of the report
- Placing data centers in space could reduce the demand for resources from these facilities on Earth.
- Data centers generate excess heat, but space does not cool computing hardware efficiently. This could be a major engineering challenge.
- A significant increase in the number of satellites in orbit could be difficult to manage and cause collisions.
To access this GAO report, go to:
Image credit: GAO
On the Horizon: Three Science and Technology Trends That Could Affect Society.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined how these three technologies could evolve over the next decade. These transformative technologies are trending toward maturity and may need congressional attention over the next 10 years.
These technologies are:
- Neural implants for human augmentation.
- General purpose robots.
- Orbital debris removal technologies.
Orbital debris
Image credit: GAO
GAO reports that there are more than 15,000 pieces of orbital debris currently tracked, with more than a million pieces that are too small to track but can still damage satellites and other spacecraft that provide important services.
Technology is in development to actively remove, relocate, or repurpose large, non-tumbling debris. This could reduce the risk of a catastrophic cascade of collisions, but would not eliminate it because small or tumbling debris constitute the vast majority of dangerous debris.
Legal difficulties
Further development and use of novel technologies may be hampered by possible legal difficulties posed by the Outer Space Treaty.
Image credit: GAO
Policymakers could consider a variety of options, including supporting targeted research to fill technological gaps or initiating legal analyses to develop solutions to legal difficulties.
GAO is not making recommendations but has identified several policy considerations for the Congress and others to weigh as these technologies continue developing.
Image credit: GAO
Read the full report — On the Horizon: Three Science and Technology Trends That Could Affect Society – go to:
https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-26-108079.pdf
Also, go to video at:
In his online “Diary of the 12th Man”, Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 astronaut, has completed another chapter with a section dedicated to “Origin of Life.”
“I have undertaken a long-running project to write a personal account of the Apollo 17 Mission on which I flew to the Moon as the Lunar Module Pilot and scientist,” explains Schmitt. “This diary also attempts to integrate much of the mission’s scientific results to date with the operations that were necessary to explore the valley of Taurus-Littrow.”
Ronald Wells, Editor-in-Chief, notes that Chapter 13, Section 2, focuses on the origin of life here on our home planet and extends lunar regolith geology to a water-rich Earth.
Artist’s rendering of the LCROSS spacecraft and Centaur separation at the Moon.
Image credit: NASA
“The section presages the possible eventual return of similar regolith material by the Artemis astronauts from lunar south polar areas where H2O has been detected,” Wells notes, for example, by NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and its Centaur stage that impacted the Moon in October 2009.
That purposely crashed mission was to determine if water-ice exists in a permanently shadowed crater at the Moon’s south pole. NASA formally announced that data from LCROSS “indicates that the mission successfully uncovered water…near the Moon’s south pole.”
Readers can access this chapter and sections in the right sidebar at:
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
It is a wait-a-minute, hard-hitting NASA report issued on the crewed Boeing Starliner mission to the International Space Station in 2024, in redacted form.
NASA defines the incident in the same category as the Space Shuttle Columbia and Challenger disasters.
An Anomalies Review Investigation Team identifies lessons learned in the flawed Starliner mission, focused on propulsion system anomalies experienced during the Crew Flight Test.
Troubled flight
New NASA chief, Jared Isaacman, underscored the seriousness of Starliner’s troubled crewed flight, labeling it as a “Type A mishap,” a mission that could put astronauts in danger.
NASA astronauts Suni Williams (left) and Butch Wilmore during pre-launch Boeing Starliner spacecraft simulator workout at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Image credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
Starliner was not designated a serious mishap right from the start, Isaacman said, citing internal pressure to keep Boeing on board and flights on track.
Go to the full (redacted) report — Commercial Crew Program Starliner Tests & Anomalies Review (STAR) Investigation Team and Starliner Data Review Team (SDRT) Report – at:
https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/nasa-report-with-redactions-021926.pdf?emrc=76e561
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
The number of objects in orbit has surged over the past two decades, driven largely by the expansion of commercial space activity.
This critical orbital infrastructure is under threat. Congestion from space debris is rising, creating a strategic vulnerability for the entire planet.
Without mitigation, the probability of a serious collision occurring by 2032 is potentially 29% in certain altitude zones.
Those are a few observations by a new report — Clear Orbit, Secure Future: A Call to Action on Space Debris — from the World Economic Forum and the Center for Space Futures. They have jointly led several community consultations to assess the escalating risk and economic cost of space debris, particularly the growing collision risk it presents over the coming decade.
Image credit: World Economic Forum/Center for Space Futures
Economic forecast
The report is a product of a close collaboration with the Saudi Space Agency and LeoLabs to develop an orbital population model, and with Novaspace to produce an economic forecast that quantifies the potential economic impact of space debris on the global space economy.
The new forecast projects that space debris could impose a direct cost of up to $42.3 billion over the next decade, a “hidden tax” on the space economy.
To access the full report, go to:
https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Clear_Orbit_Secure_Future_2026.pdf
Born to Explore – John Casani’s Grand Tour of the Solar System by Jay Gallentine; Nebraska Press; 400 pages; Hardcover, $39.95.
This fascinating read centers on one of the most valued leaders that worked for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed a slew of NASA projects, including Voyager, Galileo, and the Cassini mission to Saturn.
For those that had their own close-encounter with John Casani – as this reporter did several times – he was a tour-de-force of facts, enthusiasm, and stick-to-it management guidance.
Jay Gallentine, an award-winning space historian from Minnesota, has written an absorbing look at this legendary leader that rose through JPL’s ranks to a senior executive.
As the author skillfully notes, Casani battled politics, funding issues, the laws of physics, and also on occasion his JPL compatriots. “We didn’t know how to do what were supposed to do. We were too dumb to know that what they were askin’ us to do would really be hard,” said Casani on his early days at JPL as cited by Gallentine.
Casani harbored a persistent drive to undertake some of the most momentous – and nine-figure space missions — ever embarked upon.
Sadly, John Casani passed away on June 19, 2025 at 92 years of age – and did not see the publication of this masterfully written volume.
So often, we space cadets herald the hardware of space victories in far off corners of our solar system. These are legacy successes made possible by individuals that accept and confront challenges like no other.
But thanks to Gallentine’s account through the book’s 27 chapters, the reader can appreciate the expertise Casani brought to America’s adventurous, ambitious and audacious space exploration program. It is an outstanding story told and a significant entry in the Nebraska Press Outward Odyssey series.
For more information, go to:
https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496206657/born-to-explore/
John Casani and Jay Gallentine.
Image credit: Jay Gallentine
