NASA Missions to Mars

(4.5/5) This is a gorgeous coffee table book! As guest essayist Andy Chaikin says in his Introduction to Mars, "I fell in love with the world next door." Short essays comprise the beginning of each chapter, followed by simply GORGEOUS images of Mars. The 4 chapters cover (1) our initial perceptions of Mars from telescope images to Mars' depiction in science fiction over the years; (2) our initial discoveries of Mars based on the initial missions to the planet; (3) our continued journeys to the red planet to search for life and develop a deeper geological understanding of the planet with better technology; and (4) what future missions to Mars might comprise and how humans might play a direct role in Martian exploration. Because this focuses on NASA missions, it's very US-centric, which is to be expected. There were a couple of images that I think might have benefitted from a scale bar, but since this is a non-academic book, I can't fault them for that. This collection of images and essays has definitely given me a deeper appreciation for Mars and the potential scientific discoveries it might hold!

This book comes out April 12!

As the title suggests, "NASA Missions to Mars: A Visual History of Our Quest to Explore the Red Planet" by "Piers Bizony" provides a good description of past and future NASA missions to Mars. The prose is engaging, and the extensive illustrations and photographs are incredible. Many of the pictures of the surface of Mars are hauntingly beautiful.

The 200 page book is comprised of four sections. (1) "Red Planet Visions" which some of the more notable fictional descriptions of Mars such as War of the Worlds, Martial Chronicles, and the Barsoom tales. (2) "First Contact" that documents humanity's first space probes to return pictures and other data about Mars. (3) "Robot Explorers" that focuses on robotic missions including the scientific quest to learn about the possibility of life on Mars, and (4) "Human Martians" which describes plans for humans to explore Mars. After a worthy introduction, each of the sections is adorned with vivid illustrations and photographs.

I recommend this book to space enthusiasts. (Many of the pictures are worthy of framing and display!)

I am appreciative to Piers Bizony and the Quarto Publishing Group for kindly providing a temporary electronic review copy of this book.

I enjoyed this book. The photographs and drawings are amazing. There is not a lot of text; this book is almost entirely a visual delight. But the text that's there is clear, conversational, and well written. Thank you to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Motorbooks for the digital review copy.

The story begins in 1961 with a young boy, astronomy books, and excitement about the solar system; specifically, Mars. The planet he could see (when he was 15) with a grown-up backyard telescope, that had a pinkish hue.

His books said Mars was the most Earth-like of the planets, and he fell in love with the "planet nextdoor."

By then, the Mariner 4 fly-by provided new but pixilated photos, then with other Mariners, the photos were closer and improved...and changed everything, every four years. Mars was not Earth-like. It was dry and rocky, and "dull" to some. But to this young man, it was even more interesting; he decided to be an astronaut and go to Mars.

The introduction was written by Andrew Chaikin, who never became an astronaut, but had some amazing experiences before becoming a space journalist.

Following the introduction, in section 1, there are posters from movies about Mars, book covers, and drawings, while the world's perceptions changed about whether there was life on Mars, and whether it would be friendly or menacing.

My favorite sections are the beautiful photos of the planet's surface. I had no idea there were so many different types of landscapes, features, and oddities.

Sections 2 and 3 of the text are full of mini goldmines of fascinating information that were a delight to read.

As much as I tried to absorb all of the space science I could while growing up, the only photos I saw of Mars were blurry or rocky. I only had an ebook pdf of this book on my phone for the review, but I spent a lot of time bent over my phone zooming in on the landscapes and photos from the rovers.

That's why I recommend this book so highly. It's primarily about the journey from "then to now," but the book also includes multiple paintings and artist renderings and cut-aways of proposed habitats and machines, and photos of prototype suits. It feels like a three-part lecture with wonderful pictures.

Or, you can just look at the photos of Mars, and marvel. The author hopes this book inspires future scientists, engineers, designers, and others. Maybe humans will visit Mars in person in our lifetime. It would be a dream come true for many, many people.

5/5 Stars and one Red Planet

Thanks to Quarto Publishing and NetGalley for the free preview of the ebook pdf; the review is voluntary.

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As a non-technical space fan, I found this book was pitched at a nice level for me. I didn't feel patronised but all the science is understandable and gave just the right level of information to help me understand more about Mars. The book is primarily beautiful pictures and artist's impressions of Mars but is accompanied by short essays about the history and potential future of missions to Mars. There are probably better books for those wanting an in-depth investigation of the challenges involved but I found this book thoroughly enjoyable and finished it feeling optimistic about our prospects of landing a person on Mars within my lifetime.

NASA Mission to Mars by Piers Bizony was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. My whole life I have been a "space junkie." I wanted to grow up, be an astronaut and be on an interstellar space ship. That didnt work out in my favor so I must rely on books such as this one. I was not expecting the history of our (humans) perception of Mars, but I found that very interesting. The book also has a section on the perceived future of Mars exploration. As a "coffee table" book, I hope to obtain a hard copy of it so the photos can be further examined at my leisure. If you, or someone you buy book for is a space junkie like me, please give this book a read.

5 Stars