Archive for the ‘Space Book Reviews’ Category
Author: 
July 27th, 2014
Mars Up Close: Inside the Curiosity Mission by Marc Kaufman; National Geographic Books, Wash., D.C.; $40.00 (hardcover); August 2014.
This is an absolutely stunning book. After this read, and soaking in the lavishly dazzling presentation, you’ll get to know the fourth planet as never before … and why this world is a place that is ready for human exploration.
Kudos go to the author, Marc Kaufman, a gifted science journalist that transformed himself to become an “embedded Martian,” spending two years with engineers and scientists dedicated to exploring the enigmatic world. He observed up-close and personal the drama and tension of getting NASA’s Curiosity rover up into space, then down and dirty on the Red Planet.
The book’s publication date is timed to salute the August 6, 2012 landing of Curiosity – but sends the reader on a journey that is now on-going. In a very real sense, this book is a toolkit to better appreciate the mystery that is Mars – not just from a geological perspective, but the pursuit to uncover whether the planet was, or is now, an extraterrestrial address for life.
Mission Makers: Adam Steltzner:
“Exploring is fundamentally human; we’ve done it for thousands of years. It’s an expression of something that’s the best in us.” – From Mars Up Close – Inside the Curiosity Mission.
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Entry, Descent and Landing Engineer Adam Steltzner reacts after the Curiosity rover successfully landed on Mars and as first images start coming in to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
I found the “Mission Makers” segments in the book particularly appealing. So often the gee-whiz hardware overwhelms the fact that humans make the hardware happen. These vignettes of the men and women on the forefront of discovery while uncovering more puzzling questions add to the vitality of this book.
There’s even an extra added attraction to this volume. Throughout the book, a special icon on certain images denotes the inclusion of those images in NASA’s free Spacecraft 3D app, a tool that allows users to view a three-dimensional experience of Mars on their smartphone or tablet.
As Kaufman reflects: “For me, Curiosity has forever increased that gravitational pull of interest about our cousin planet. We’ve been connected since the start, both born from the same disk of debris orbiting our protosun. It’s not inevitable that our futures will bring us closer again, but it’s quite possible, and quite desirable, too. A challenge, a prize, a time capsule like no other, Mars beckons.”
The book includes a “Humans to Mars” chapter that spotlights how the Curiosity rover is a stepping stone to planting footprints on that faraway world.
Underscoring that prospect is a foreword to the book written by SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk. Mars Up Close was created with generous support from SpaceX. “Sending large numbers of people to explore and settle Mars in the decades ahead isn’t inevitable, but it is entirely possible,” Musk observes.
For more information on this book, go to:
http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/product/books/science-and-space/mars-up-close
NOTE: To celebrate the new National Geographic book Mars Up Close a special event is being staged at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C. and also carried via Live Stream.
The event starts Tuesday, August 5, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. EST.
For an event update, go to:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/mars-up-close/
By Leonard David
Posted in 
Credit: NASA
A new free NASA monograph is available that uses case studies to show government support for commercial activities.
This intriguing monograph is titled: Historical Analogs for the Stimulation of Space Commerce.
With the rise of a range of private-sector entrepreneurial firms interested in pursuing space commerce, the process whereby their efforts might be incubated, fostered, and expanded comes to the fore as an important public policy concern in a way never before present in the Space Age.
Roger Launius, associate director for collections and curatorial affairs at the National Air and Space Museum, explores how to apply more effectively already-tested models of government support for commercial activities, as well as the interactions of both the public and private spheres in a new opportunity zone in space.
In each case, a summation yields a range of key points.
In the United States there is a convergence of several powerful economic forces, including the need to restore American capability to reach low-Earth orbit for the servicing of the International Space Station and the rise of a hospitality/tourism/entertainment industry interested in space.
This publication is available for free in PDF format, for Kindle readers and other eBook readers.
Go to:
http://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/historical_analogs_detail.html
Suborbital: Industry at the Edge of Space by Erik Seedhouse; Springer/Praxis, New York /Heidelberg; $34.99; 2014.
As the dawn of commercial suborbital flight draws closer, author Erik Seedhouse has written an informative book on the topic.
The reader will find splendid accounts of such groups as Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, and XCOR Aerospace – all vying to create a profitable commercial suborbital spaceflight industry.
Seedhouse is a former astronaut training consultant for Bigelow Aerospace, and has also developed astronaut-training protocols for future spaceflight participants. In addition, he is a certified commercial suborbital astronaut who will fly a payload mission in the near future, as well as training director for Astronauts for Hire.
This volume delves into numerous topics, such as how the commercial suborbital industry is poised to develop and mature into a fully fledged and viable market. It also details how the new suborbital vehicles will operate in the suborbital environment and how basic and applied research will be conducted in during suborbital flight.
Seedhouse notes that “vehicle builders still face rigorous shake-out schedules, flight-safety hurdles, as well as extensive trial runs of their respective craft before suborbital space jaunts become commonplace.”
You’ll find this read enjoyable and fact-filled, whether Seedhouse is outlining how to make the most of four minutes of microgravity, the risks of suborbital flight, dealing with motion sickness, or tips on flying payloads on suborbital vehicles.
I particularly enjoyed a brief history tutorial on suborbital flight. Similarly, very edifying are details regarding the various spaceports popping up around the globe.
For more information on this book, go to:
Look for the issue on newsstands, but you can order it here:
Sally Ride – America’s First Woman in Space by Lynn Sherr; Simon & Schuster, New York, New York; $28.00; June 2014.
This is a truly inspiring book, written by a top-notch journalist about an extraordinary woman – Dr. Sally Ride.
It’s corny to talk of Ride as a woman who simply served up the proverbial “right stuff” in tennis player fashion – but more a person who shattered NASA’s “celestial glass ceiling.” This book is a wonderful portrait of Ride – a self-described introvert – but a woman that inspired so many others to strive for and cultivate a “can do” spirit.
Sherr is a masterful writer and researcher. The reader will encounter many, many “didn’t know that” facts throughout this work. The author had access to Ride’s diaries, letters and personal files to pull together this tell-all book, as well as recounting the late astronaut’s guarded personal life, specially her sexual orientation.
As expressed by Sherr: “Writing Sally’s life without her participation has made me, like any biographer, part detective, part historian, part arbiter of divergent tales, often piecing together fragments very reluctantly divulged.”
Following her 1983 and 1984 space shuttle flights, Ride was among the experts on select panels drawn together to investigate both the Challenger explosion in 1986 and the loss of Columbia and its crew on re-entry in 2003. As revealed in the book, Ride believed the seven-person Columbia crew might have been returned alive – admittedly a “high drama” rescue mission could have been staged, one that involved spacewalks that “would have been sporty, but…not impossible.”
In 2001, Ride founded her own company, Sally Ride Science, to pursue her long-time passion of motivating girls and young women to pursue careers in science, math and technology. “She wanted to awaken young female minds to the wonder of science that had captivated her,” Sherr explains. “She wanted to inspire and insure the next generation of America’s mathematicians and engineers and physicists and astronauts.”
This outstanding book propels forward that inspiration. It underscores the many contributions Sally Ride gave America and the world. “As first females know well,” Sherr writes, “every small step by one is a giant leap for us all.”
Note: Go to a special “History in Five” video – Sally Ride, America’s First Woman in Space. Veteran ABC News and 20/20 reporter Lynn Sherr tells you five incredible things you should know about Sally Ride, America’s first woman in space.
To watch the video, go to: http://bcove.me/ycdmo63u
For more information on this book, go to:
http://books.simonandschuster.com/Sally-Ride/Lynn-Sherr/9781476725765
Cover: Copyright, Sky and Telescope (used with permission)
Keep an eye out for Sky and Telescope magazine’s Mars 2014 issue!
Mars – Mysteries & Marvels of the Red Planet is a fascinating look at the Red Planet, making use of maps, photos, and in-depth articles on a number of topics, such as the history of water on Mars, sniffing for methane on that enigmatic world, as well as the on-going hunt for dead or alive Martian biology.
In our co-written article, Buzz Aldrin and I discuss settling the Red Planet in a sustainable way – spotlighting a possible site on Mars for the first human landing.
There’s a treasure-trove of information in this Mars 2014 issue – and once read, I think you’ll see the Red Planet in a new light.
Buzz Aldrin and I at Barnes and Noble bookstore in Glendale, Colorado.
Credit: Nelson Garcia
Buzz Aldrin and I had a wonderful day in Denver on Saturday, May 24th.
In promoting our book — Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration – we visited both the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Glendale, Colorado as well as the magnificent Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum gala event in Denver that night.
At both events we were welcomed by large and receptive audiences.
As for walking on the Moon, 45 years ago this July, “it’s slow and it’s dusty…but it makes for beautiful boot prints,” Buzz told the Barnes and Noble crowd. But Buzz also had strong words regarding the overall health of the U.S. space program.
Great audience at Barnes and Noble bookstore in Glendale, Colorado.
Credit: Barbara David
At the Wings Over the Rockies gala, Buzz and I were joined on stage by his son, Andy Aldrin, President of Moon Express, Inc. Andy wrote a great foreword to our book and was an invaluable contributor to the entire book project.
Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum gala event. Left to right: Andy Aldrin, Buzz Aldrin, Leonard David. Part of our presentation included the Making of the Rocket Experience video.
Credit: Barbara David
For a look at part of our day in Denver, go to:
http://www.9news.com/story/news/education/2014/05/25/buzz-aldrin-signs-books-meets-hundreds/9560731/
Credit: Barbara David
2013-14 State of the Future by Jerome C. Glenn, Theodore J. Gordon, and Elizabeth Florescu; The Millennium Project, Washington, D.C.; $39.95 US + shipping (soft cover); 2014.
“It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future,” said baseball great, Yogi Berra. However, you can get a big assist in foretelling what’s ahead by reading an important book produced by The Millennium Project, an international participatory think tank established in 1996.
“Humanity is slowly but surely becoming aware of itself as an integrated system of cultures, economies, technologies, natural and built environments, and governance systems,” the book notes.
The Millennium Project has gathered the insights from creative and knowledgeable people around the world to identify and update prospects for 15 Global Challenges to provide a framework for understanding what is important to know about global change.
In terms of making use of space and aerospace technologies, this volume underscores what humankind faces when pondering our collective future. The book, in a sense, is a solid primer on how the space program may contribute to solutions. In fact, one of the books contributors, Theodore Gordon, was manager for the third stage of the Saturn V rocket.
In one general observation, what is needed is a U.S.-China 10-year “Apollo-like” environmental security goal with a “NASA-like program” that other nations can join once established. Indeed, the book also notes that a global collective intelligence system is needed, one that can not only track science and technology advances – but also understand the potential consequences of new and possible future scientific and technological advancements.
The book reviews the trends of 30 variables used to create a global State of the Future Index and provides a score card on humanity’s performance in addressing the most important challenges.
Again, this is not a book specific to space. Nonetheless, if one tenant of the U.S. space program is to bring space down to Earth, this is a wise read. Once you have read this volume, you’ll realize we’re clearly behind in appreciating what’s ahead.
Note: Check out a video that spotlights the report’s release and observations, held at the Woodrow Wilson Center. A panel discussion involves Dennis Bushnell, Chief Scientist at the NASA Langley Research Center, Jerome Glenn, CEO, The Millennium Project, and Paul Werbos, Program Director, National Science Foundation.
Go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MKQ9FrmU04
For more information on this book, go to:
http://millennium-project.org/millennium/201314SOF.html
Credit: Steve Lee
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