Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

The first American to survive a capsule landing was the chimpanzee Ham. However, successful missions that sent apes into space inadvertently suggested that human astronauts are simply passive cargo. For Alan Shepard and John Glenn, the first American human astronauts to go into space and orbit Earth, respectively, their primate predecessors occupied an embarrassing, if not undermining, spot in the space travel timeline.

Ham became a celebrity and appeared on the cover of Time. He survived his suborbital mission to live another 22 years. When the Smithsonian announced their plan to display a taxidermied Ham in an exhibit, public outrage convinced the organization to change its mind. Ham’s fame overshadowed the achievements of Enos, the first chimpanzee to orbit Earth. By the time of Enos’s feat, Russia had already sent two men in space and orbit. Although Ham’s and Enos’s missions were groundbreaking, Roach declines to call them heroes, instead commending Shepard for his bravery in undertaking such a dangerous mission.

Roach provides an entertaining tangent when she becomes fixated on a story that Enos masturbated during his flight and the press conference after his landing. Suspicious of the anecdote, she researches its written provenance and scours archival footage to clear Enos’s reputation. In the end, she confirms that the ape’s nickname, “Enos the Penis,” was in reference to his obstinate demeanor, as his trainer claimed, and not his sexual proclivities. Roach also unsuccessfully attempts to verify a rumor that NASA had plans to send an ape on a one-way mission to the moon. Roach interprets the existence of the rumor as an indication of how desperately the US wanted to beat the Russians to the moon. The rumor also prompts Roach to acknowledge the reality that many humans would volunteer for a one-way mission to Mars.

Chapter 9 focuses on Roach’s visit to the HMP (Haughton-Mars Project) in Canada’s High Arctic. Devon Island, the remote location of the research base, offers an approximate simulation of moon and Mars environments, replete with craters and the absence of electricity, inhabitants, and supplies. Roach describes the HMP’s exploration activities as exercises in planning and time management.

On one of Roach’s outings, participants performed tasks like those from the Apollo missions, such as collecting rock samples and taking radiation readings. They drove rover simulators and ATVs at six miles an hour, crossed dusty terrain, and put on and took off spacesuits while measuring how long it took. The logistics of staying on schedule allows NASA to better prepare for unforeseen complications, as well as calculate whether the astronauts have sufficient levels of oxygen or battery life to complete a task. For example, Apollo astronauts observed “walkabout constraints” (184) that limited how far their rover could travel in case an emergency required a return to the lunar module by foot.

Roach points out that a geologist didn’t join the moon missions until Apollo 17, as if research about the moon itself was an afterthought. She also sympathizes with the astronauts who experienced frustration with Mission Control’s micro-managing of each minute of every task. During Apollo 17’s landing, NASA scheduled time for “two quick looks” (179) out the window. Roach, on the other hand, describes the wonder and beauty of leisurely observing a bee or a patch of flowering moss against the island’s barren landscape. Space psychologists have studied autonomy and revealed that participants are happier and more creative when given the ability to make their own schedules and decisions. However, Roach admits that not planning verges on endangerment: Astronaut Chris Hadfield notes that he spent six years researching and planning and only eight days in actual space.