Life on Mars: What to Know Before We Go - Hardcover

Weintraub, David A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691180539 ISBN 13: 9780691180533

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2018

Synopsis

The story of the search for life on Mars―and the moral issues confronting us as we prepare to send humans there

Does life exist on Mars? The question has captivated humans for centuries, but today it has taken on new urgency. NASA plans to send astronauts to Mars orbit by the 2030s. SpaceX wants to go by 2024, while Mars One wants to land a permanent settlement there in 2032. As we gear up for missions like these, we have a responsibility to think deeply about what kinds of life may already inhabit the planet--and whether we have the right to invite ourselves in. This book tells the complete story of the quest to answer one of the most tantalizing questions in astronomy. But it is more than a history. Life on Mars explains what we need to know before we go.

David Weintraub tells why, of all the celestial bodies in our solar system, Mars has beckoned to us the most. He traces how our ideas about life on Mars have been refined by landers and rovers, terrestrial and Mars-orbiting telescopes, spectroscopy, and even a Martian meteorite. He explores how finding DNA-based life on the Red Planet could offer clues about our distant evolutionary past, and grapples with the profound moral and ethical questions confronting us as we prepare to introduce an unpredictable new life form―ourselves―into the Martian biosphere.

Life on Mars is also a book about how science is done―and undone―in the age of mass media. It shows how Mars mania has obscured our vision since we first turned our sights on the planet and encourages a healthy skepticism toward the media hype surrounding Mars as humanity prepares to venture forth.

About this title

From the Back Cover

"The search for life on Mars is one of the great quests of our time. If you want to know where it stands today, read Weintraub’s fine book."--Robert Zubrin, president of the Mars Society

"Weintraub guides us on an enjoyable tour through the labyrinthine history of the search for life on Mars. In this carefully researched book, he reveals the forces that drive scientists limited by imprecise data to draw major conclusions and satisfy both a sensational press and tightfisted funding agencies. Tighten your seat belts for a roller-coaster ride as he seeks to answer the age-old question: are we alone in the universe?"--Peter Smith, leader of the Phoenix Mars Mission

"David Weintraub delivers an accessible and comprehensive look at the evidence for and against the possibility of past or present Martian life, and sounds an appropriate note of caution about the possibility that humans could destroy Mars life before ever having discovered it."--Emily Lakdawalla, The Planetary Society

"Life on Mars is a valuable lesson in science. Weintraub's well-written and easy-to-read book will appeal to anyone interested in Mars and the search for life."--Alfred McEwen, director of the Planetary Image Research Laboratory, University of Arizona

About the Author

David A. Weintraub is professor of astronomy at Vanderbilt University. He is the author of Religions and Extraterrestrial Life: How Will We Deal with It?, How Old Is the Universe? (Princeton), and Is Pluto a Planet?: A Historical Journey through the Solar System (Princeton). He lives in Nashville.

About this edition

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0691180539
• ISBN 13: 9780691180533
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320