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Summary
Summary
The firsthand account of the trials and tribulations of engineering one of the most complex pieces of space technology, the Mars Rover Curiosity, by its chief engineer Rob Manning
In the course of our enduring quest for knowledge about ourselves and our universe, we haven't found answers to one of our most fundamental questions: Does life exist anywhere else in the universe? Ten years and billions of dollars in the making, the Mars Rover Curiosity is poised to answer this all-important question.
In Mars Rover Curiosity: An Inside Account from Curiosity's Chief Engineer , Rob Manning, the project's chief engineer, tells of bringing the groundbreaking spacecraft to life. Manning and his team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, tasked with designing a lander many times larger and more complex than any before, faced technical setbacks, fights over inadequate resources, and the challenges of leading an army of brilliant, passionate, and often frustrated experts.
Manning's fascinating personal account--which includes information from his exclusive interviews with leading Curiosity scientists--is packed with tales of revolutionary feats of science, technology, and engineering. Readers experience firsthand the disappointment at encountering persistent technical problems, the agony of near defeat, the sense of victory at finding innovative solutions to these problems, the sheer terror of staking careers and reputations on a lander that couldn't be tested on Earth, and the rush of triumph at its successful touchdown on Mars on August 5, 2012. This is the story of persistence, dedication, and unrelenting curiosity.
Reviews (2)
Kirkus Review
Although lacking the glamour of manned space flight, unmanned probes have accomplished great things, and this book delivers a thoroughly satisfying description of one of the greatest. Aided by journalist Simon (co-author, with Kevin Mitnick: Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker, 2011, etc.), Manning, NASA's chief of engineering for the Mars Program Office, recounts Curiosity's tortuous development, from the rover's 2004 proposal to the Aug. 5, 2012, landing and subsequent triumph that "revolutionized the art of planetary exploration." No one took success for granted, aware that more than half of the probes sent to Mars have failed. The eight-month voyage presented few problems; not so the critical EDL, or entry-descent-landing, process, which required a Rube Goldberg-esque series of parachutes, rockets and thrusters that carefully deposited the rover and then flew away. Compared to previous rovers (the tiny 1997 Sojourner, modest 2003 Spirit and Opportunity), Curiosity is massive: five times heavier and 10 times more complex than its predecessor. Comparable to the Manhattan project, the development took longer and faced problems unknown to those who built the atom bomb. Many features couldn't be tested, and budgetary limitations meant that defects were often left in place if they were unlikely to affect the mission. Most readers know how it turned out. The engineers were not so lucky, and the authors deliver a nail-biting, nuts-and-bolts chronicle of seemingly endless technical and political problems overcome by brilliant, obsessive engineers who worked day and night and continue to do so. Readers yearning for stories of human space travel must follow developments in China, the only nation with an active manned space program. Those who appreciate the purely scientific results of planetary exploration will love this lively, intelligent account of a dazzling achievement. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Choice Review
Manning (Mars Program Office) and Simon (author/journalist) have teamed up to provide an autobiographical story of how the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) and the Mars rover Curiosity were created. The beginning chapters give the story of how Manning became chief engineer of MSL at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, while also supplying background information on the exploration of Mars. The middle section of the book explores the challenges Manning faced in designing the laboratory and Curiosity. The ending is no surprise: Curiosity lands on Mars. The final chapter focuses on the scientific discoveries that Curiosity has made since its landing in 2012 and what scientists are hoping to find in the future. This book does not contain a lot of technical jargon. Any technical information provided is supported by diagrams and pictures that clarify what the authors are writing about. It will be an enjoyable read for anyone interested in Mars, the exploration of Mars, or how NASA designs its missions. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; general readers. --Catherine Charnawskas-Jasionowicz, Rochester College
Table of Contents
| Prologue Seven Minutes of Terror | p. xi |
| Chapter 1 The Red Planet Fixation | p. 1 |
| Chapter 2 Joining the Mars Adventure | p. 7 |
| Chapter 3 Avoiding Splat | p. 19 |
| Chapter 4 The Birth of MSL | p. 35 |
| Chapter 5 Looking Ahead to Putting People on Mars | p. 45 |
| Chapter 6 The Challenges of Landing | p. 55 |
| Chapter 7 The Right Kind of Crazy | p. 65 |
| Chapter 8 Scientists at Work | p. 73 |
| Chapter 9 The Challenges of Instrument Creation | p. 81 |
| Chapter 10 Where the Devil Lives | p. 89 |
| Chapter 11 It's All About the People | p. 105 |
| Chapter 12 Bad to Worse | p. 115 |
| Chapter 13 Up Against a Brick Wall | p. 129 |
| Chapter 14 Shutdown and Restart | p. 139 |
| Chapter 15 The Final Stretch | p. 153 |
| Chapter 16 Gremlins | p. 169 |
| Chapter 17 On Mars! | p. 181 |
| Chapter 18 The Scientific Findings | p. 197 |
| Appendix NASA's Mars Missions | p. 214 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 216 |
| Index | p. 218 |