Pascal Lee

MISSION: MARS was Awarded the 2015 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Children's Science Books - Middle Grades Category - by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

I'm a planetary scientist with the Mars Institute and the SETI Institute. I work at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California.

MISSION: MARS is my first book. It's a children's book on the human exploration of Mars. The publisher is Scholastic. I grew up in the Apollo era, when humans were walking on the Moon. It was a very exciting time. I remember being able to find non-fiction books that would show me the insides of spacecraft and the workings of spacesuits. Going to Mars is the space exploration adventure of this century. I wanted to write a book that would get children today excited about space exploration, and above all, get them interested in science, technology, and engineering at an early age. MISSION: MARS is aimed at kids aged 9 to 12 and takes young readers on a training mission to become Future Mars Explorers. It's designed like a training manual with lots of color diagrams of future Mars spacecraft, habitats, rovers, and spacesuits. The book draws on research being done at NASA and worldwide to get humans ready to go to Mars. It was a lot of fun to write. I hope that you, your family, and your friends enjoy it.

Here are some words of support I've received for MISSION: MARS:

"Pascal Lee is a true pioneer of Mars exploration. This book makes me want to put on a spacesuit and go to Mars"!

Buzz Aldrin

Apollo 11 astronaut

Author, "Mission to Mars"

"I love, love, love, love, love, love Mission: Mars!... it's the best, clearest, most fun book about Mars I've come across... It's wonderful"!

Mary Roach

Author, "Packing for Mars"

For more information and book reviews, please visit my website: www.pascallee.net