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