Thoughts on Packing for Mars

I am a huge fan of Mary Roach, I have copies of Stiff, Spook and Bonk so I've been expecting great things from Packing for Mars. I wasn't disappointed, Roach turns her writing to the minutiae of space travel less Houston we have a problem, more Houston we have a fungus.

As usual she dives head-first into her subjects which run from the evolution of NASA's 'food' to experiencing weightlessness (I'm jealous I've always wanted to do a zero g flight) to why sex in space wouldn't work (gravity is your friend people) It is - as she points out - possible to visit space without ever leaving the ground, but only in simulation.

Packing for Mars is whitty, packed with facts and laced with Roach's trademark humour. PFM will be out soon.