Destination Mars: The Story of our Quest to Conquer the Red Planet

Description

When the Apollo astronauts walked on the Moon in 1969, many people imagined Mars would be next. However NASA's Viking 1, which landed in 1976, was just a robot. The much-anticipated crewed mission failed to materialise, defeated by a combination of technological and political challenges. Four decades after Viking and almost half a century after Apollo technology has improved beyond recognition - as has politics. As private ventures like SpaceX seize centre stage from NASA, Mars has undergone a seismic shift - it's become the prime destination for future human expansion and colonisation. But what's it really like on Mars, and why should anyone want to go there? How do you get there and what are the risks? Astrophysicist and science writer Andrew May answers these questions and more, as he traces the history of our fascination with the Red Planet.

Andrew May is a former scientist with an MA from Cambridge University and a PhD in Astrophysics from Manchester University. After a thirty year career spanning the academic, government and private sectors, he has now settled in the South-West of England where he works as a freelance writer and consultant on subjects as diverse as defence technology, history, physics, Forteana and New Age beliefs.