Martian Summer: My Ninety Days with Interplanetary Pioneers, Temperamental Robots, and NASA's Phoenix Mars Mission

By: Andrew Kessler

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Synopsis: A space enthusiast goes inside mission control with a motley crew of rocket scientists in this &“fascinating journey of discovery peppered with humor&” (Publishers Weekly). The Phoenix Mars mission was the first man-made probe ever sent to the Martian arctic. Its purpose was to find out how climate change could turn a warm, wet planet (read: Earth) into a cold, barren desert (read: Mars). Along the way, Phoenix discovered a giant frozen ocean trapped beneath the north pole of Mars, exotic food for aliens, and liquid water, and laid the foundation for NASA&’s current exploration of Mars using the Curiosity rover. This is not science fiction. It&’s fact. And for the luckiest fanboy in fandom, it was the best vacation ever. Andrew Kessler spent the summer of 2008 in NASA&’s mission control with one hundred thirty of the world&’s best planetary scientists and engineers as they carried out this ambitious operation. He came back with a story of human drama about modern-day pioneers battling NASA politics, temperamental robots, and the bizarre world of daily life in mission control.