Packing for Mars

Roach is back with another irreverent romp, this time through "an entire odd universe of mock outer space." Spaceflight subjects both astronauts and equipment to unusual stresses, so NASA and other space agencies first conduct correspondingly extreme (and often bizarre) tests on people and technological instruments in earthbound settings. Yet even the most imaginative engineers can't foresee everything that can go wrong in space. Readers who enjoyed the author's previous books will be pleased to know that the cadavers of Stiff return (they're used in space capsule crash tests), and so does the sex research of Bonk (albeit mostly in the form of debunked hoaxes). Other areas Roach examines include the psychology of isolation and confinement, space motion sickness, the difficulties of bathing and defecating in zero gravity, and innovations in space food. While there are occasional somber passages, most of the descriptions of the many and varied annoyances of space travel are perversely entertaining.