Short description
Since the 1950s, Mars has been the obsession of a select group of space scientists who have used their time and their influence - sometimes at the expense of their careers - to push for further exploration of our potentially habitable neighbour. This book is illustrated with images that evoke the obsessions and achievements of the Mars explorers.
Long description
The quest for Mars is chronicled by bestselling author Andrew Chaikin in this story of a passionate band of Earthbound explorers caught in the irresistible pull of the Red Planet. They include celebrated figures: astronomer Carl Sagan, who champions the idea of life on Mars-; rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, drawing up plans for human Mars expeditions; and science-fiction author Ray Bradbury, standard-bearer for Mars's crucial place in human destiny. Readers also meet the rogue grad students known as the Mars Underground, keepers of the flame when Mars falls off NASA's radar; biologist Jerry Soffen, looking for signs of life in a Martian meteorite; geologist Mike Malin, who defies skeptics to reveal a Mars no one imagines; and many others, including Chaikin himself, who served on the first Viking Mars landing and covered Mars exploration as a science journalist. Based on extensive interviews, illustrated with compelling images, and animated by the author's own passion, Chaikin's account will resonate with anyone who has ever dreamed of a journey to Mars.