Mission to Mars

Astronaut Michael Collins of Apollo 11 fame outlines the challenges and rewards of mounting a manned mission to Mars, and describes how it could and should be done. His writing is very clear and readable, and, in the sections where he's talking about why we should go to Mars, he gets downright eloquent. I do wish, though, that he hadn't included the multi-chapter fictionalized account of a Mars mission, or had at least kept it much shorter. In general, I think this sort of dramatization is a temptation that non-fiction writers really ought to avoid. It almost never ends up being as fun to read as it must have been to write.

The main thing to note about this book, though, is that it was published in 1990 -- something I didn't quite show more realize when I picked it up. That means it is very dated... Although not necessarily in the ways you might think. Technology has marched on a bit, yes, but the basic challenges and necessities of a Mars mission are still pretty much the same. We do know more about both Mars and about the effects of long-term spaceflight on the human body, which are perhaps more relevant. But the most significant thing is how much the political landscape has changed... and this book is very grounded in the political landscape of its time. It's a slightly odd experience to read through all the many, many pages Collins devotes to talking about the Soviet Union -- as a competitor, as a potential (if not fully trusted) partner in space, as a nation with a burgeoning space presence and a shiny new shuttle program -- knowing that even as the book hit the stands the USSR was already collapsing and that nothing would come of those shiny shuttles at all. Also, hey, remember Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (aka "Star Wars")? Remember the first President Bush making all kinds of grand plans (or at least big noises) about getting to Mars? Remember when the International Space Station was going to be called Freedom and be almost exclusively a US project? I almost didn't, to be honest, until Collins reminded me about it all.

Rating: I'm calling this one a 3/5, with the note that it would certainly be higher if I were rating it in 1990. show less

Collins lays out the truth in how to get to Mars quicker and cheaper than NASA and the current Bush administration have pushed for. This book explains very clearly why Collins plan is superior in simplicity, cost, and timliness than the current administrations agenda.

Reading the book provides the details of what is needed for this type of manned exploration space travel. I believe it is the best reference on the details needed to get mankind to Mars and why we should proceed.