Mary Roach

Space is the most hostile environment there is, which is perhaps why we are so fascinated with it. Why would anyone aspire to be an astronaut? How much can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What happens to you when you can’t walk for a year? Or smell flowers? What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a space walk? Is it possible for the human body to survive a bailout at 17,000 miles per hour? To answer these questions, space agencies set up all manner of startlingly bizarre space simulations.

As Mary Roach discovered, it’s possible to preview space without ever leaving Earth. From the space shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA’s new space capsule (cadaver filling in for astronaut), Roach takes us on a surreally entertaining trip into the science of life in space and space on Earth. With her trademark witty candor, Roach says that she set out to humanize aeronautics, a topic that tends to maintain a sense of steely nobility. She tells us the things you won’t hear from NASA…from liquor cabinets in space to zero gravity bathroom procedures.