The Mystery of Mars

Ride, Sally; O'Shaughnessy, Tom

ISBN 10: 0517709724 ISBN 13: 9780517709726

Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers, 1999

Synopsis

In 1997, NASA's Pathfinder began a new era in Mars exploration when it touched down and, along with its tiny rover, Sojourner, explored the Martian surface for the first time in 20 years. In December 1999, a new NASA spacecraft will land on Mars, to  be followed by several more missions over the coming decade. In  The Mystery of Mars, former astronaut Sally Ride and science teacher Tam O'Shaughnessy draw on the latest Pathfinder data, as well as decades of study of Mars, to present a comprehensive overview of Earth's nearest neighbor. With its thin atmosphere, rocky canyons, extinct volcanoes, and icy polar regions, Mars has many things in common with Earth--and may have even had life. Comparing the two planets' evolution, geology, and geography, the authors explain what we know about Mars today and what we hope to learn about it in the future. With lavish color photographs, this engaging and accessible introduction to the Red Planet is the ideal guide to this new age of Mars research.
From the Hardcover edition.

About this title

About the Author:

Sally Ride and Tam O'Shaughnessy both live inLa Jolla, California.
From the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-6-Actually a physical portrait of two planets, this survey draws illuminating parallels and contrasts between the history, structure, and current state of both Earth and Mars. Imparting a vivid sense of how inhospitable the red planet is, at least to life as we know it, Ride and O'Shaughnessy supply a lively mix of sweeping claims ("Mars has the largest volcanoes and the longest, deepest canyons in the entire solar system"), specific observations, and logical extrapolations. The authors' comments are enhanced by a generous array of computer graphics, precisely detailed paintings, and recent photographs from both space and ground level. The material includes information gathered from the 1997 Pathfinder mission and a mention of the Mars Climate Orbiter, though not of the latter's failure. The book is capped by a time line of Mars missions through 2001 and a well-chosen list of Web sites, making it a good, if already dated, replacement for any book on this subject more than two years old.
John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0517709724
• ISBN 13: 9780517709726
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 48