Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars: Space, Exploration and Life on Earth

Kate Greene moved to Mars in 2013 to participate in NASA's HI-SEAS simulated Mars mission, gaining insight into human behavior and the nature of isolation. She reflects on what it is to live on Earth and what space missions can teach us about ourselves and life on Earth.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 09 September 2021
Publisher: Icon Books Ltd

Featured in New Scientist s Best Books of 2021, Kate Greene s eloquent memoir is equal parts escape and comfort. Publishers Weekly praised it as a powerful reflection on life in isolation, in pursuit of the dream of Mars. In 2013, Kate Greene moved to Mars. On NASA s first HI-SEAS simulated Mars mission in Hawaii, she lived for four months in an isolated geodesic dome with her crewmates, gaining incredible insight into human behavior in tight quarters, as well as the nature of boredom, dreams, and isolation that arise amidst the promise of scientific progress and glory. Greene draws on her experience to contemplate what makes an astronaut, the challenges of freeze-dried eggs and time-lagged correspondence, the cost of shooting for a Planet B. The result is a story of space and life, of the slippage between dreams and reality, of bodies in space, and of humanity s incredible impulse to explore. From trying out life on Mars, Greene examines what it is to live on Earth.

In her thoughtful, well-written account of the mission, Greene reflects on what this and other space missions can teach us about ourselves and life on Earth. Physics Today praised it as a captivating and thought-provoking exploration of the human experience in space.

Weight: 184g
Dimension: 129 x 198 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781785787775