Reddit reviews Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

I always thought the "seat belt rock" they recovered on Apollo 15 was funny.

Every Apollo mission was planned down to the minute, the planners even accounted for "gawping time" to let Astronauts just stare out into the abyss and appreciate where they were.

During Apollo 15 David Scott and James Irwin were driving around the Lunar Rover from crater to crater doing what science they could and taking a few samples. On their way back to the Lunar Module Scott spied an impressive basalt sample (it was large and can only be formed from Magma cooling at or near the surface of a planet or moon), he stopped the Rover and to account for the stop said he was experiencing a seat belt malfunction.

Irwin played along and distracted Mission Control by describing the craters. Scott got out of the rover grabbed the rock and then they hauled ass back to the Lunar Module.

Mission Control didn't know about this sample until after they had returned to Earth.

If you want to check out the transcripts they're all here.

If you like this kinda story, you should check out Mary Roach's book Packing For Mars. She's got a lot of other anecdotes in it.

Mary Roach's Packing for Mars is more about human extra-terrestrial life and the science and social engineering behind life on the ISS and potential space colonies, but it's still an excellent read.

You should take some time to see a movie. "Exit" Through the Gift Shop is one of my favorites, and it might even help you feel a little less crabby. Some beautiful street art in there.

Wishlist

Not exactly what you're looking for, but Packing For Mars is a pretty interesting read. Full of interesting facts about the science of space travel, while still being readable and funny.

If it's not mentioned already - people should read "Packing For Mars" by Mary Roach. It talks all about the side of space travel you never hear about but want to know. Including how to shit in space. It even talks about that transcript.
http://www.amazon.com/Packing-Mars-Curious-Science-Life/dp/B00AR2BCLW

I love these lists that everyone has compiled here, I've seen some amazing books that I've read and have yet to read. But since no one's mentioned this one, I'd to add a book that I think is really significant to AskWomen and the state of our society today:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. It's about how a black woman died of cervical cancer in the 50s, then doctors took her cancer cells to experiment on without telling her family, and they're basically the only human cells to be replicated in the lab without dying so they've been used in all of medicine, including to develop vaccines like polio -- and yet her descendants live without healthcare. It's an amazingly well written, interesting, and exciting book.

Other than that I recommend Mary Roach as an author, she is very fun to read. My favorites are Gulp: Adventures in the Alimentary Canal and Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

Have you read "Packing For Mars" by Mary Roach?? I highly recommend it!

you double posted, so here's mine in this one.

I had a great great grandmother we called Nana. She was the oldest of 13 children and took care and helped raise them all. When she was about 13 (I think) she moved her family from Cape Breton, Canada to Rhode Island and hand sewed handkerchiefs (because that was a woman's job) to help take care of her siblings. She built the large, French-Canadian, loud, ginger, wine-loving family that I am proud to be a part of today. When she got mad at us, or we did something not to her liking, she would raise her hand like she was about to slap someone and would said "don't make me give you one of these" while waving her hand in your face... as she got older she would say it from across the room, but her hand was always raised. When I was 14, she was 96, and she woke up one day and made a blueberry pie. When the pie was out and cooling down, she called my great aunt and said "take me to the hospital, I'm going to die." I kid you not, not even 24 hours later she was dead. My great aunt then came home from the hospital and froze the pie. When our family gathered together to celebrate her life, we ate the pie (after a lobster dinner of course... the were in Rhode Island). Nothing has ever tasted better.

I would love this book. I love love love Mary Roach and I really enjoy learning and my fiance and I would totally read it out loud with each other.

I'm all over the place, I have a few books in progress.


Jitterbug Perfume - Tom Robbins

Packing for Mars - Mary Roach

Freakonomics - Levitt & Dubner

Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell

Not outside of this book, but it's a great read. Packing for Mars

I haven't read it yet, but Packing for Mars by Mary Roach is probably as hilarious and informative as everything else she's written (which is why I'm recommending it).