
The Quest for Mars
NASA Scientists and Their Search for Life Beyond Earth
Laurence Bergreen(Author)
Voyager (Publisher)
Published on 3. September 2001
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-0-00-653134-0 (ISBN)
Description
Is there life on Mars? If not, why not? These questions have gripped mankind throughout the twentieth century. In the shadow of the new millennium, The Genesis Question seeks the definitive answers from the scientists participating in the race to discover life on the Red Planet.
'Ever since I was a small child, I've believed there was life out there. When I look at the magnitude of the universe, with its billions of stars, I believe that if life developed here on Earth, it must have developed elsewhere. We simply can't be unique. I really don't think we're the most intelligent life forms in the universe, but that's just my gut feeling', Dr Claire Parkinson, NASA scientist.
Of all the planets, Mars has exerted the most powerful allure over the human intellect and imagination. Generations of astronomers have expected to find clues to the origin and destiny of Earth and its inhabitants concealed amid the red storms sweeping across the surface of Mars. Today, public interest in the Mars mission is sky-high; the exploits of the tiny Mars Rover 'Sojourner' in the summer of 1997 excited the greatest curiosity in a space mission in a generation.
In The Quest for Mars Laurence Bergreen has unrestricted access to a team of NASA employees - engineers, geologists and other scientists - who are consumed by the search for proof of life on Mars. As one formidable obstacle after another attempts to scupper their quest for a deeper understanding of life on Mars and throughout the Solar System, the narrative takes us step by step through the exhilaration and the despondency of their extraordinary adventure. Nothing is off limits in this unique, behind-the-scenes story of space exploration.
'Ever since I was a small child, I've believed there was life out there. When I look at the magnitude of the universe, with its billions of stars, I believe that if life developed here on Earth, it must have developed elsewhere. We simply can't be unique. I really don't think we're the most intelligent life forms in the universe, but that's just my gut feeling', Dr Claire Parkinson, NASA scientist.
Of all the planets, Mars has exerted the most powerful allure over the human intellect and imagination. Generations of astronomers have expected to find clues to the origin and destiny of Earth and its inhabitants concealed amid the red storms sweeping across the surface of Mars. Today, public interest in the Mars mission is sky-high; the exploits of the tiny Mars Rover 'Sojourner' in the summer of 1997 excited the greatest curiosity in a space mission in a generation.
In The Quest for Mars Laurence Bergreen has unrestricted access to a team of NASA employees - engineers, geologists and other scientists - who are consumed by the search for proof of life on Mars. As one formidable obstacle after another attempts to scupper their quest for a deeper understanding of life on Mars and throughout the Solar System, the narrative takes us step by step through the exhilaration and the despondency of their extraordinary adventure. Nothing is off limits in this unique, behind-the-scenes story of space exploration.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
15 b/w, 15 col illus, Index
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
349 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-653134-0 (9780006531340)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Laurence Bergreen
The Quest for Mars
NASA Scientists and Their Search for Life Beyond Earth (Text Only)
E-Book
01/2014
HarperCollins
€8.49
Available for download
Person
Laurence Bergreen is the author of the highly acclaimed biographies Capone: The Man and his Era, As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin, James Agee: A Life and Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life.