Sleep deprivation, depression, and frustration were common psychological concerns, while the effects of low gravity on breathing, heart-rates, vision, and digestion were physical challenges. Roach focuses on the social and mental health of astronauts who spent weeks and months in cramped spaces with few outlets to relieve stress. In contrast to the earlier era of macho pilot astronauts, space shuttle crew members have mostly been scientific researchers who participated in longer missions and benefited from having congenial colleagues. The studies illustrated the importance of cooperation, empathy, and the ability to endure boredom for astronauts. Roach reports on isolation chamber experiments in Japan, where finalists folded origami birds, and in Russia, where a fist fight and sexual harassment incident occurred.

The first quarter of the book addresses the psychological impact of space travel, particularly the effects of confinement and isolation. Roach finds humor and inspiration in all the ways scientists have grappled with keeping humans alive in a hostile and sterile environment with no oxygen, gravity, sex, food, toilets, or privacy. The book focuses on the peculiarities and triumphs of human exploration in the extreme environment of space, and the perhaps even stranger environment of space simulations. Little victories and lesser-known surreal stories about space exploration garner her attention and respect. In the Prologue, Roach contends that humans are more vulnerable and unpredictable than machines. For author Mary Roach, exploring space is as much a psychological, physiological, and social feat as it is an engineering one. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void details in 16 chapters that space travel is no easy task. Norton & Company Kindle edition of the original title. In 2022, Roach published an adaptation geared for a younger audience entitled Packing for Mars for Kids. By describing humanity’s attempts to explore and survive in extreme environments, Roach celebrates how ingenuity and absurdity coexist to achieve the monumental and the mundane. Roach’s thesis is that space travel reveals just as much about human nature as it does about the cosmos.

Packing for mars by mary roach