Synopsis
"Get ready to sy good-bye," your commander says. Within minutes, he will fire the rockets and your ship will leap out of its Earth orbit. You are going to Mars.
You are on a special mission to a place no human has ever been. You will travel a great distance: more than 35 million miles from Earth. You will eat freeze-dried food and sleep floating above your bed. It could be dangerous, but you and your crew know your duties and are prepared for any situation. You are a new kind of pioneer and there is much work to be done. You are on your way to the planet Mars.
Why are you going? How long will it take? What will you find once you get there? In this fascinating, up-to-the-minute look at space travel, David Getz draws on interviews with scientists and members of NASA, describing what the arduous journey to Mars would be like and the challenges astrounauts might face once they arrived on the planet. The result is a thrilling story with an ending that is still unfolding.
Children's Literature
You are going to Mars. What do you need to do to prepare? What will Mars be like? What will you find? What is your mission once you arrive? The object of Life on Mars is to engage and prepare the reader for his/her trip to Mars. This is accomplished by combining interesting facts and theories about Mars with guided imagery and, in a sense, imaginative role-playing. Getz is asking the reader to step into the shoes (or should I say boots) of one of the first astronauts to travel to Mars. Strap yourself in, prepare for take-off, and let Getz and his experts prepare you for the journey of a lifetime.