The best-selling author of Stiff and Bonk explores the irresistibly strange universe of space travel and life without gravity.
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 happens to you when you canβt walk for a year? have sex? smell flowers? What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a space walk? Is it possible for the human body to survive a bailout at 17,000 miles per hour? To answer these questions, space agencies set up all manner of quizzical and startlingly bizarre space simulations. As Mary Roach discovers, itβs possible to preview space without ever leaving Earth. From the space shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASAβs new space capsule (cadaver filling in for astronaut), Roach takes us on a surreally entertaining trip into the science of life in space and space on Earth. . .
Media Buzz
Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me! - April 21, 2012 On Point - August 26, 2010 Daily Show with Jon Stewart - August 2, 2010 Talk of the Nation - August 2, 2010
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