Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive: air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, beer. Space exploration is in some ways an exploration of what it means to be human. How much can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What happens to you when you can’t walk for a year? Have sex? Smell flowers? What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a space walk? Is it possible for the human body to survive a bailout at 17,000 miles per hour?

To answer these questions, space agencies set up all manner of quizzical and startlingly bizarre space simulations. As Mary Roach discovers, it’s possible to preview space without ever leaving Earth. From the space shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA’s new space capsule (cadaver filling in for astronaut), Roach takes us on a surreally entertaining trip into the science of life in space and space on Earth.

玛丽·罗琦Mary Roach

1959年出生于美国新罕布什尔州汉诺威市,卫斯理大学心理学专业毕业,现为自由作家,《美国国家地理》、《新科学家》、《连线》的专栏撰稿人,《美国科学与自然写作年度选2011年卷》主编,2012年获得哈佛世俗协会颁发的拉什迪奖,同年还被Maximum Fun.org授予科学调查特别奖。迄今已有五本科普畅销书问世,风格幽默搞怪,可称为当代最令人捧腹的科学作家。

已出版作品

《人类尸体的奇异生活》Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

《见鬼,科学推倒来世》Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife

《科学碰撞“性”》Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex

《消化道历险记》Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal