Synopses & Reviews
"Get ready to sy good-bye," your commander says. Within minutes, he will fire the rockets and your ship will leap out of its Earth orbit. You are going to Mars.
You are on a special mission to a place no human has ever been. You will travel a great distance: more than 35 million miles from Earth. You will eat freeze-dried food and sleep floating above your bed. It could be dangerous, but you and your crew know your duties and are prepared for any situation. You are a new kind of pioneer and there is much work to be done. You are on your way to the planet Mars.
Why are you going? How long will it take? What will you find once you get there? In this fascinating, up-to-the-minute look at space travel, David Getz draws on interviews with scientists and members of NASA, describing what the arduous journey to Mars would be like and the challenges astrounauts might face once they arrived on the planet. The result is a thrilling story with an ending that is still unfolding.
Synopsis
You are going to Mars. You will be the first human to visit another planet.An up-to-the-minute look at space travel to Mars with photographs from the Viking spacecraft and illustrations by Caldecott honoree Peter McCarty
This up-to-the-minute look at space travel describes, in riveting detail, the steps necessary to take a trip to Mars. More than thirty-five million miles from Earth, Mars seems almost inaccessible, since it would take an astronaut three years to complete the trip. Through interviews with astronauts and NASA officials, David Getz presents a firsthand look at the state of space travel today. Illustrated with evocative drawings by Caldecott Honor winner Peter McCarty and photos of Mars from the Viking spacecraft, Life on Mars is essential for anyone who has ever wondered about that enigmatic red planet in the nighttime sky.
About the Author
David Getz is the award-winning author of the middle-grade novels
Thin Air and
Almost Famous, and the nonfiction books
Frozen Man and
Frozen Girl. When not writing, Mr. Getz works as an elementary-school principal in New York City.
Peter McCarty is the Caldecott Honor-winning author and illustrator of Hondo and Fabian. He also teamed up with David Getz on Frozen Man, Frozen Girl, and Purple Death. Mr. McCarty lives with his wife and two children in Upstate New York.