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From School Library Journal

March 25, 2022

Gr 5-7-In this trimmed version of her book for adults, science journalist Roach explores the nitty gritty-and the icky, slimy, and stinky-aspects of living in space. Based on interviews with astronauts and NASA researchers, as well as an actual ride (with sound effects) on the infamous "Vomit Comet," and a literal spin on a testing device dubbed the "rotating chair," she describes in rousing detail how some of the less savory challenges of space flight were tackled or endured: finding ways to dispose of body waste and (mostly in a chapter memorably titled "Barfing on the Ceiling") to cope with motion sickness; living for days or weeks in confined cabins with people who can't wash or change clothes; and more. Along the way she acquaints readers with the ins and (unfortunately) outs of NASA's "dreaded fecal bag," explains how gravity affects nearly everything we commonly do, and tucks in details that are likely to be new even to confirmed students of space travel-such as the corned beef sandwich astronaut John Young smuggled aboard Gemini 3, and the stamina of Gemini 7 astronaut Frank Borman, said to have gone nine days in orbit without defecating. An adequate selection of period photos offers glimpses of grimly smiling astronauts of both sexes, as well as clear views of space food, space toilets, and ground-based training facilities. VERDICT Along with plenty of laughter, this work may engender even more respect for the toughness of those first generations of space travelers.-John Edward Peters

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Booklist

Starred review from December 1, 2021
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* Best-selling, popular-science writer Roach ditches her usual audience (adults) for that of the middle-grade kid (her true kindred spirit) in this entertaining young reader's edition of Packing for Mars (2010). Streamlined to a cool seven chapters, Roach's book digs into the fun, the gross, and the unexpected challenges of space travel with a level of detail not typically seen in kid's books. The text is driven by Roach's genuine curiosity and enthusiasm for the information she imparts, and grounded in science without ever getting didactic. The majority of the book is devoted to astronauts' experiences, both in training and in space, and the science and engineering required to keep them alive and healthy. Readers will delight in the serious attention paid to bodily functions: throwing up in your helmet poses real dangers, and the chapter on space toilets (and the dreaded fecal bag) is a thing of wonder. Also covered are the challenges of showering in space, astronauts' food, and living in tight quarters with others. Photos and snippets from conversations between astronauts and mission control jazz up chapters, but the real boost comes from Roach's engaging tone and active role in what she's reporting. She doesn't just talk about parabolic, anti-gravity plane flights and spinning chairs for motion-sickness testing; she takes a ride on both. Kids will eagerly join her every step of the way.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From Library Journal

October 15, 2010

With wry humor and an often repellent degree of detail, New York Times best-selling author Roach (www.maryroach.net)--whose previous title, Bonk (2008), is also read by Sandra Burr and available from Brilliance Audio--here discusses the physical challenges astronauts face during space flight, i.e., the zero-gravity realities of disposing of bodily waste, bathing, eating, having sex, and getting sick, along with all of their malodorous consequences. She also tracks NASA engineers' attempts to find solutions to these dilemmas in order to improve astronauts' physical and psychological experiences. Burr narrates in a matter-of-fact tone that well matches Roach's scientific approach. Recommended for adult audiences interested in the curiosities of space flight; not for the queasy. [The New York Times best-selling Norton hc received a starred review, LJ 7/10.--Ed.]--Ilka Gordon, Siegal Coll. of Judaic Studies Lib., Cleveland

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Publisher's Weekly

September 27, 2010
Roach explores the quotidian aspects of space travel for humans with her usual aplomb. She reveals the everyday concerns and aspects—physiological, psychological, and emotional—of long-term space immersion. Sandra Burr proves a great complement to Roach's prose. Her character voices are distinct, and she executes the jargon and technical aspects of space life with a clear and emphatic tone, helping listeners with more complicated passages. She has a matter-of-fact tone with a hint of a wry smile when she explains, say, sex in space, and she is unfailingly clear and affable. A Norton hardcover.

From Library Journal

Starred review from July 1, 2010
Roach is back with another irreverent romp, this time through "an entire odd universe of mock outer space." Spaceflight subjects both astronauts and equipment to unusual stresses, so NASA and other space agencies first conduct correspondingly extreme (and often bizarre) tests on people and technological instruments in earthbound settings. Yet even the most imaginative engineers can't foresee everything that can go wrong in space. Readers who enjoyed the author's previous books will be pleased to know that the cadavers of "Stiff"return (they're used in space capsule crash tests), and so does the sex research of "Bonk"(albeit mostly in the form of debunked hoaxes). Other areas Roach examines include the psychology of isolation and confinement, space motion sickness, the difficulties of bathing and defecating in zero gravity, and innovations in space food. While there are occasional somber passages, most of the descriptions of the many and varied annoyances of space travel are perversely entertaining. VERDICTAn essential purchase. Roach devotees and science fans will devour this one.—Nancy R. Curtis, Univ. of Maine Lib., Orono

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Booklist

July 1, 2010
Roach brings intrepid curiosity, sauciness, and chutzpah to the often staid practice of popular science writing. With the human body as her endlessly intriguing subject, she not only investigates but also participates in strange goings-on behind laboratory doors. Following her wildly popular Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex (2008), Roach explores the organic aspects of the space program, such as the dangerous bane of space motion sickness and the challenges of space hygiene (the early capsules stunk to high heaven). Roach happily goes weightless on a parabolic flight on a McDonnell Douglas C-9 in a NASA zero-gravity research project, and test-drives a pressurized rover on a lunar landscape in the High Arctic. She devotes one chapter to space food and another to zero-gravity elimination, which is a serious matter, even with a term like fecal popcorning. An impish and adventurous writer with a gleefully inquisitive mind and a stand-up comics timing, Roach celebrates human ingenuity (the odder the better), and calls for us to marshal our resources, unchain our imaginations, and start packing for Mars.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

From Kirkus

Starred review from June 15, 2010

Popular-science writer Roach (Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, 2008, etc.) entertainingly addresses numerous questions about life in outer space.

The author is less interested in the thrills and agonies of space travel than "the stuff in between—the small comedies and everyday victories." In lucid writing well-tuned to humor and absurdity, Roach tackles such topics as bowel movements in zero gravity. In fact, all the things that can and routinely do go wrong are vile—inhaling fecal dust that coats the mouth with E. coli, for instance—and few have taken the act of vomiting quite to the riotous heights as Roach. Plenty of astronauts succumbed to motion sickness in her presence, but it's a problem often ignored by reports because motion sickness is seen as a weakness, and any perceived weakness could get an astronaut bumped from a mission. The author visits with astronauts to hear about what it is like to share a confined space with another person for many days on end—"irrational antagonisms" are mentioned, as are fist fights, another little something not mentioned in press briefings—and to look at the cross-cultural issues that arose when Russians, Canadians and Americans shared a space station. Roach is equally adept at demystifying thorny scientific material, such as the nature of gravity and its role in our lives—especially how the lack of it thins bones, atrophies muscles, does odd things with blood vessels and the heart and is particularly uncooperative when it comes to sex: "thrusting just pushes the object of one's affections away." There is much good fun with—and a respectful measure of awe at—the often crazy ingenuity brought to the mundane matters of surviving in a place not meant for humans.

A delightful, illuminating grab bag of space-flight curiosities.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)