Inter-Planetary Travel Stinks

The Origin Of The Term Space-Case

When it comes to space, Mars is the next big thing. But before you get your own custom Quatto or a ride through Venusville, you have to get there. NASA’s been looking into it, and the life science involved has been, well, weird.

In Packing For Mars, Mary Roach sheds light on NASA’s strange human endurance tests. Early on, normal folks were asked to sit in a space suit for weeks, marinating in their own juices and aromas. No showers allowed. Easy, right? Sounds like AV club. Except people go looney under those circumstances right quick.

Incidentally, this is not the stuff of the past. You can make real money lying down (over $150/day) in NASA’s ongoing bedrest study. “Videogamers think they’ve died and gone to heaven,” quipped Mary, “until they hear about the bedpan.”

Choice experiences contributing to the book include nearly getting lobotomized by a rock saw in Antarctica (where they test moon rovers) and drinking her own purified pee. Having faced those perils would she still be an astronaut, given the chance? “Absolutely,” she says, “fly me to the moon.”

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