Packing for Mars
The Curious Science of Life in the Void
Mary Roach
The best-selling author of
Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive: air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, beer. Space exploration is in some ways an exploration of what it means to be human. How much can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What...
Mary Roach's book 'Packing for Mars' was mentioned alongside her other works 'Stiff' and 'Gulp' in the context of her unique writing style and fondness for footnotes.
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Mary Roach author of such books as stiff gulp and packing for Mars
— Episode: Mini-Stories : Volume 12
Episode: Mini-Stories : Volume 12
Mary Roach's book 'Packing for Mars' was mentioned alongside her other works 'Stiff' and 'Gulp' in the context of her unique writing style and fondness for footnotes.
"
Mary Roach author of such books as stiff gulp and packing for Mars
It was mentioned in relation to the discussion about Mars settlements, specifically concerning the feasibility of sending livestock, such as cows and mice, to Mars.
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I interviewed Mary Roach, author of Packing for Mars. Let's see what she says about Mars settlements.
— Episode: Life on Mars Mashup
Episode: Life on Mars Mashup
It was mentioned in relation to the discussion about Mars settlements, specifically concerning the feasibility of sending livestock, such as cows and mice, to Mars.
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I interviewed Mary Roach, author of Packing for Mars. Let's see what she says about Mars settlements.
It was mentioned as a book with instructions on how to pack to survive the trip to Mars, but that survival was only for the trip there, not for living on Mars itself.
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Okay. And it is, there's instructions on, it's Packing for Mars,
but in terms of living on Mars, that's a separate other book.
You can pack to survive the trip there. After that, all bets are off.
Episode: Packing for Mars (Part 1)
The book explores the challenges of sending humans to Mars, focusing on the unusual and often overlooked aspects of such a mission, such as the psychological impact of confinement and the development of space-appropriate food. The author's interviews with astronauts and scientists were discussed, highlighting various considerations and challenges.
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I visited the Johnson lab where they make the food and I tasted like eight-year-old pork chop.
I tasted seven-year lifespan hashed browns.
But better than the early...The stuff that's really interesting is from the Gemini and Apollo era when they were really concerned with making the food low-residue so that the astronaut could avoid using the bathroom system which at that time was a bag.
It's low-fiber, highly processed. So you absorb everything out of it?
The most extreme approach that I saw was this guy who suggested and I think he was being serious that NASA should recruit obese astronauts and he figured out that for 50 pounds of excess weight, there's like 184,000 calories. You would just basically starve the astronaut for the duration of the mission.
Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.
