But it isn’t anything like reality. Ask an M.D. who spent a year dissecting a human form tendon by gland by nerve, whether learning anatomy on a computer simulation would be comparable. Ask an astronaut whether taking part in a space simulation is anything like being in space. What’s different? Sweat, risk, uncertainty, inconvenience. But also, awe. Pride. Something ineffably splendid and stirring. One day at Johnson Space Center, I visited Mike Zolensky, the curator of cosmic dust and one of the caretakers of NASA’s meteorite collection. Every now and then, a piece of asteroid slams into Mars hard enough that the impact hurls small chunks of the Martian surface way out into space, where they continue to travel until they are snagged by some other planet’s gravitational pull. Occasionally that planet is Earth. Zolensky opened a case and lifted out a Martian meteorite as heavy as a bowling ball and handed it to me. I stood there taking in its hardness and heft, its realness, making an expression that I’m sure I’d never before had call to make. The meteorite wasn’t beautiful or exotic-looking. Give me a chunk of asphalt and some shoe polish and I can make you a simulated Mars meteorite. What I can’t possibly simulate for you is the feeling of holding a 20-pound divot of Mars in your hands.
The nobility of the human spirit grows harder for me to believe in. War, zealotry, greed, malls, narcissism. I see a backhanded nobility in excessive, impractical outlays of cash prompted by nothing loftier than a species joining hands and saying “I bet we can do this.” Yes, the money could be better spent on Earth. But would it? Since when has money saved by government red-lining been spent on education and cancer research? It is always squandered. Let’s squander some on Mars. Let’s go out and play.
The first time I visited Johnson Space Center, a sign near the door of the public affairs building said, HARD HAT REQUIRED. And it kind of was. A lot of No’s got lobbed my way. Space agencies keep a firm grip on their public image, and it’s less troublesome for employees and contractors to say no to someone like me than to take their chances and see what I write. Happily there are people involved in the human side of space exploration who see value in unconventional coverage (or are just plain too nice to say no). For their candor and wit—and the generosity with which they shared their time and know-how—super-galactic thanks to John Bolte, Charles Bourland, James Broyan, John Charles, Tom Chase, Jon Clark, Sherwin Gormly, Ralph Harvey, Norbert Kraft, Rene Martinez, Joe Neigut, Don Rethke, and Scott Weinstein; astronauts Roger Crouch, Jim Lovell, Lee Morin, Mike Mullane, Andy Thomas, and Peggy Whitson; and in Russia, cosmonauts Sergei Krikalyov, Alexandr Laveikin, Yuri Romanenko, and Boris Volynov.
I have no background in space or aeromedical matters. Many of the people I spoke to were not so much sources as unpaid tutors. I am talking about Dennis Carter, Pat Cowings, Seth Donahue, George Fahey, Brian Glass, Dustin Gohmert, Sean Hayes, Toby Hayes, Natsuhiko Inoue, Nick Kanas, Tom Lang, Pascal Lee, Jim Leyden, Marcelo Vazquez, April Ronca, Charles Oman, Brett Ringger, Shoichi Tachibana, Art Thompson, Nick Wilkinson, and Mike Zolensky. All spent more time with me than they had to spare, and for this I am truly grateful.
Terry Sunday’s tremendous expertise and thoughtful, thorough review of the manuscript and Linda Wang’s knowledge of congressional archives were indispensable. For their insights into things that happened long ago, I am grateful to Bill Britz, Earl Cline, Jerry Fineg, Dan Fulgham, Wayne Mattson, Joe McMann, May O’Hara, Rudy Purificato, and Michael Smith. Pam Baskins, Simone Garneau, Jenny Gaultier, Amy Ross, Andy Turnage, and Violet Blue provided valuable contacts and assistance, and I thank them too.
Though the public affairs people could not always help in the ways I naively wanted them to, they were extremely knowledgeable and professional. Aaisha Ali, Gayle Frere, James Hartsfield, and Lynnette Madison of the Johnson Space Center were especially attentive, as was Kathryn Major of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute and Trish Medalen at Red Bull. Kumiko Tanabe of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency worked miracles on my behalf. I’d also like to acknowledge the people who put together NASA’s oral history and Lunar Surface Journal projects and the oral history program at the New Mexico Museum of Space History, as well as the staff of the Interlibrary Loan department of the San Francisco Public Library. These are incomparable resources.
Lena Yakovlena, Sayuri Kanamori, and Manami Tamaoki were not only brilliant interpreters but unbeatable travel companions. I am extremely fortunate that Fred Wiemer was available to copy edit both this and my previous book. Thanks to designer Jamie Keenan for another perfect and witty cover; to curator Deirdre O’Dwyer for the hours spent stalking obscure photos and rights; to the fabulous Kristen Engelhardt for spot translations; to the bed-resters for their boundless good humor; to Jeff Greenwald for books, gin, and enthusiasm; and to Dan Menaker for the best line in the book.
As with all my books, any success must be attributed in large part to the collective publishing chops of W. W. Norton. With the help of a dorky rocket metaphor, I would like to single a few people out. My incomparable editor Jill Bialosky deftly steered the manuscript through some needed midcourse corrections, and Rebecca Carlisle, Erin Sinesky Lovett, and Steve Colca expertly managed launch and trajectory of the finished product.
My husband Ed Rachles and my agent Jay Mandel gracefully defused the angst and whinging pessimism that are an inevitable part of all my ventures. I don’t think I could do what I do without the support of these two excellent people.
1949
Rhesus monkey Albert II becomes first creature to experience zero gravity on board a rocket.
1950–1958
Air Force flies planes in parabolas to mimic zero G and study its effects on chimps, cats, humans.
Nov. 1957
Soviet dog Laika orbits Earth, dies in space.
Aug. 1960
Soviet dogs Belka and Strelka are first to return alive from orbit.
Mercury Space Program Era 1961–1963
Jan. 31, 1961
Astrochimp Ham survives a suborbital flight in a Mercury space capsule.
April 12, 1961
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space, and first human to orbit Earth.
May 5, 1961
Alan Shepard becomes first American in space.
Nov. 29, 1961
Astrochimp Enos orbits Earth.
Feb. 20, 1962
John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit Earth.
Gemini Space Flights 1965–1966
1965–1966
Air Force tests Gemini diets and “restricted bathing” regimens in space cabin simulators.
Mar. 18, 1965
Alexei Leonov becomes first astronaut to spacewalk outside spacecraft.
Mar. 23, 1965
Gemini III “corned beef sandwich incident.”
June 3, 1965
Gemini IV: Ed White becomes NASA’s first spacewalker.
Dec. 4–18, 1965
Gemini VII: two men, two weeks, no bath.
Apollo Lunar Missions 1968–1972
Mar. 3–13, 1969
Apollo 9: Rusty Schweickart battles space motion sickness.
July 20, 1969
Apollo 11: first humans set foot on the moon.
Dec. 7–9, 1972
Apollo 17: first scientist in space.
Orbiting Space Station (and Space Shuttle) Era 1973–2015
1973–1979
Skylab U.S. space station missions; space showers prove untenable.
1971–1982
Salyut Soviet space station missions.
Jan. 1978
First U.S. female astronaut candidate.
April 12, 1981
First Space Shuttle launch.
Jan. 28, 1986
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
1986–2001
Mir.
Nov. 2000
First International Space Station mission.
Feb. 1, 2003
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
COUNTDOWN
Gagarin, Yuri. Road to the Stars. Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing
House, 1962. P. 170.
Gemini VII Voice Communications: Air to Ground, Ground to Air, and On-Board Transcription. Vol. 1, p. 239. NASA History Portal: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/ mission_trans/gemini7.htm.
Platoff, Anne M. “Where No Flag Has Gone Before: Political and Technical Aspects of Placing a Flag on the Moon.” NASA Contractor Report 188251. August 1993.
1 HE’S SMART BUT HIS BIRDS ARE SLOPPY
Cernan, Eugene, and Don Davis. The Last Man on the Moon. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999. Pp. 308–310.
Mullane, Mike. Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut. New York: Scribner, 2006. Pp. 191, 297.
Pesavento, Peter. “From Aelita to the International Space Station: The Psychological Effects of Isolation on Earth and in Space.” Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly 8 (2): 4–23 (2000).
Santy, Patricia. Choosing the Right Stuff: The Psychological Selection of Astronauts and Cosmonauts. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1994.
Zimmerman, Robert. Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Superpowers, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press, 2006.
2 LIFE IN A BOX
Ackmann, Martha. The Mercury 13: The True Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight. New York: Random House, 2004.
“Airman Still Okay in Mock Trip to Moon.” Hayward Daily Review, February 10, 1958.
Burnazyan, A. J., et al. “Year-Long Medico-Engineering Experiment in a Partially Closed Ecological System.” Aerospace Medicine, October 1969, pp. 1087–1093.
Collins, Michael. Liftoff: The Story of America’s Adventure in Space. New York: Grove Press, 1988. P. 262.
Gemini VII Composite Air-to-Ground and Onboard Voice Tape Transcription. Vol. 2, pp. 461, 500. NASA History Portal: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/ mission_trans/gemini7.htm.
Kanas, Nick, and Dietrich Manzey. Space Psychology and Psychiatry, 2nd ed. El Segundo, Calif.: Microcosm Press, 2008.
Malik, Tariq. “Report: Russia’s Mock Mars Mission to Cost $15 Million.” SPACE.com, posted January 7, 2008. http://www.space.com/news/ 080107-russia-esa-mockmars-cost.html.
Nowak, Lisa. Orange County Charging Affidavit. Reproduced on the Smoking Gun Web site.
Pesavento, Peter. “From Aelita to the International Space Station: The Psychological Effects of Isolation on Earth and in Space.” Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly 8 (2): 4–23 (2000).
Stuster, Jack. “Space Station Habitability Recommendations Based on a Systematic Comparative Analysis of Analogous Conditions.” NASA Contractor Report 3943 (NASA-CR 3943).
Zimmerman, Robert. Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Superpowers, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press, 2006.
3 STAR CRAZY
Cernan, Eugene, and Don Davis. The Last Man on the Moon. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999. Pp. 132–144.
Clark, Brant, and Ashton Graybiel. “The Break-Off Phenomenon: A Feeling of Separation from the Earth Experienced by Pilots at High Altitude.” Aviation Medicine 28 (2): 121–126 (1957).
Gemini IV Composite Air-to-Ground and Onboard Voice Tape Transcription. Pp. 43–57. NASA History Portal: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/ mission_trans/gemini4.htm.
Gussow, Zachary. “A Preliminary Report of Kayak-Angst Among the Eskimo of West Greenland: A Study in Sensory Deprivation.” International Journal of Social Psychiatry 9: 18–26 (1963).
Kanas, Nick, and Dietrich Manzey. Space Psychology and Psychiatry, 2nd ed. El Segundo, Calif.: Microcosm Press, 2008.
Linenger, Jerry M. Off the Planet: Surviving Five Perilous Months Aboard the Space Station Mir. New York: McGraw Hill, 2000. P. 147.
Oman, Charles. “Spatial Orientation and Navigation in Microgravity.” In Spatial Processing in Navigation, Imagery, and Perception. Edited by Fred Mast and Lutz Jancke. New York: Springer, 2007.
Portree, David S. F., and Robert C. Trevino. “Walking to Olympus: An EVA Chronology” (Monographs in Aerospace History Series #7). Washington, D.C.: NASA History Office, 1997.
Shayler, David J. Disasters and Accidents in Manned Spaceflight. New York: Springer-Praxis, 2000.
Simons, David G., with Dan A. Schanche. Man High. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1960.
Zimmerman, Robert. Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Superpowers, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press, 2006. P. 108.
4 YOU GO FIRST
Burgess, Colin, and Chris Dubbs. Animals in Space: From Research Rockets to the Space Shuttle. Chichester, U.K.: Springer-Praxis, 2007.
Debruicker, John. “Anti-Gravity Stone Has a Strange Story and an Even Stranger History.” Colby [College] Echo, March 9, 2006.
Gillespie, Charles. The Montgolfier Brothers and the Invention of Aviation. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1983.
Girifalco, Louis A. The Universal Force: Gravity—Creator of Worlds. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Helmore, Edward. “Timothy Leary’s Final Trip: Boldly Going into Orbit.” The Independent (UK), April 21, 1997, online ed.
Kittinger, Joe. Space Center Oral History Program. Interviewed by Wayne O. Mattson and George M. House at the New Mexico Museum of Space History, Alamogordo, New Mexico, November 2000.
Simons, David. Space Center Oral History Program. Interviewed by George P. Kennedy at the International Space Hall of Fame, Alamogordo, New Mexico, September 1987.
von Beckh, H. J. A. “Experiments with Animals and Human Subjects Under Sub-and Zero-Gravity Conditions During the Dive and Parabolic Flight.” Aviation Medicine, June 1954. Pp. 235–241.
Ward, Julian, Willard Hawkins, and Herbert Stallings. “Physiologic Response to Subgravity: Initiation of Micturition.” Aerospace Medicine, August 1959.
———. “Physiologic Response to Subgravity: Mechanics of Nourishment and Deglutition of Solids and Liquids.” Aviation Medicine, March 1959.
5 UNSTOWED
Ayres, M. L. “Survival After Jet Engine Intake.” Injury 4: 317–318.
Collins, Michael. Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut’s Story, 2nd ed. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux (Sunburst Book), 1994. Pp. 80–81.
6 THROWING UP AND DOWN
Apollo 9 Onboard Voice Transcription, Vol. 1, Day 2. NASA History Portal: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/ mission_trans/apollo9.htm.
Apollo 16 Lunar Surface Journal. http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a16/a16.html.
Apollo 16 Onboard Voice Transcription, Lunar Module, Day 5. NASA History Portal: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/ mission_trans/apollo16.htm. Brown, Tony. Hendrix: The Final Days. London and New York: Omnibus Press, 1997.
Cernan, Eugene, and Don Davis. The Last Man on the Moon. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999. Pp. 120, 190.
Correia, M. J., and F. E. Guedry, Jr. “Modification of Vestibular Responses as a Function of Rate of Rotation About an Earth-Horizontal Axis.” Acta-oto-laryngologica 62: 297–304.
Gell, C. F. and D. Cranmore. “The Effects of Acceleration on Small Animals Utilizing a Quick-Freeze Technique.” Aviation Medicine, February 1953, pp. 48–56.
Harsch, Viktor. “Centrifuge ‘Therapy’ for Psychiatric Patients in Germany in the Early 1800s.” Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine 77(2): 157–160 (2006).
Money, K. E. “Motion Sickness.” Physiological Reviews 50 (1): 1–35.
Neale, Richard. Letters to the editor in Lancet, February 19, 1887, p. 403.
Noble, R. L. “Observations on Various Types of Motion-Causing Vomiting in Animals.” Canadian Journal of Research 23 (E): 212–219.
Oman, Charles. “Spatial Orientation and Navigation in Microgravity.” In Spatial Processing in Navigation, Imagery, and Perception. Edited by Fred Mast and Lutz Jancke. New York: Springer, 2007. Pp. 209–233.
Oman, Charles, Byron K. Lichtenberg, and Kenneth E. Money. “Space Motion Sickness Monitoring Equipment: Spacelab 1.” Paper reprinted from Conference Proceedings No. 372 (Motion Sickness: Mechanisms, Prediction, Prevention, and Treatment) of the Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development.
Rannie, Ian. “The Effect of the Inhalation of Vomitus on the Lungs: Morbid Anatomy.” British Journal of Anaesthesia 35: 146 (1963).
Reason, J. T, and J. J. Brand. Motion Sickness. London and New York: Academic Press, 1975.
Schweickart, Russell L. Oral history. Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/ oral_histories/oral_histories.htm.
Thurston, Paget. Letter to the editor in Lancet, February 12, 1887, p. 350. Vandenberg, James T., et al. “Large-Diameter Suction Tubing Significantly Improves Evacuation Time of Simulated Vomitus.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine, Denver, May 1996.
Wade, Nicholas J., U. Norrsell, and A. Presly. “Cox’s Chair: ‘A Moral and a Medical Mean in the Treatment of Maniacs.’” History of Psychiatry 16 (1): 73–88 (2005).
Wolfe, Robert C., Marcus Reidenberg, and Vicente Dinoso. “Tang and Methadone by Vein.” Annals of Internal Medicine 76: 830.
7 THE CADAVER IN THE SPACE CAPSULE
AP Wire Service. “Chimps Aid Space Study.” Denton Record-Chronicle, March 27, 1966.
Brown, William K., Jerry Rothstein, and Peter Foster. “Human Response to Predicted Apollo Landing Impacts in Selected Body Orientations.” Aerospace Medicine, April 1966, pp. 394–398.
Melvin, John W., et al. “Crash Protection of Stock Car Racing Drivers—Application of Biomechanical Analysis of Indy Car Crash Research.” Stapp Car Crash Journal 50: 415–428.
Mullane, Mike. Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut. New York: Scribner, 2006. Pp. 330–331.
Swearingen, John J., et al. “Human Voluntary Tolerance to Vertical Impact.” Aerospace Medicine, December 1960, pp. 989–995.
Walz, Feix H., et al. “Airbag Deployment and Eye Perforation by a Tobacco Pipe.” Journal of Trauma 38 (4): 498–501 (1995).
8 ONE FURRY STEP FOR MANKIND
Burgess, Colin, and Chris Dubbs. Animals in Space: From Research Rockets to the Space Shuttle. Chichester, UK: Springer-Praxis, 2007.
“Chimps Aid Space Study.” Denton Record-Chronicle, March 27, 1966.
Collins, Michael. Liftoff: The Story of America’s Adventure in Space. New York: Grove Press, 1989.
Dooling, Dave. “The One-Way Manned Mission to the Moon.” Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly 8 (4): 4–11.
Glenn, John H., Jr. Oral history. Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/ oral_histories/oral_histories.htm.
“Kennedy Birthday Party Enlivened by Monkeys.” Albuquerque Tribune, November 22, 1961.
Siddiqi, Asif, “‘There It Is!’: An Account of the First Dogs-in-Space Program.” Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly 5 (3): 38–42. Swenson, Lloyd, Jr., James M. Grimwood, and Charles C. Alexander. This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury. (NASA SP-4201.) Washington, D.C.: NASA Scientific and Technical Information Division, 1966.
Williams, Harold R. “‘Chimp College’ Flourishes at Air Base in New Mexico.” AP Wire Service: Hobbs Daily News-Sun, November 20, 1963.
———“‘Chimp College’ Graduates Famous All Over Nation.” AP Wire Service: Hobbs Daily News-Sun, November 21, 1963.
———“First U.S. Flag on Moon May Be Planted by Chimp.” AP Wire Service: Bridgeport Post, May 18, 1962.
9 NEXT GAS: 200,000 MILES
Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal. http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.html.
Cernan, Eugene, and Don Davis. The Last Man on the Moon. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999. Pp. 120, 190.
Coulter, Donna. “Moondust in the Wind.” Moondaily.com report, April 14, 2008.
Fox, William L. Driving to Mars. Emeryville, Calif: Shoemaker & Hoard, 2006.
Gernhardt, Michael, Andrew Abercromby, and Pascal Lee. “Evaluation of Small Pressurized Rover and Mobile Habitat Concepts of Operations During Simulated Planetary Surface Exploration.” Unpublished NASA test plan, 2008.
Kanas, Nick. “High Versus Low Crewmember Autonomy in Space Simulation Environments.” Paper presented at the 60th International Astronautical Congress, Daejeon, Korea, October 2009.
10 HOUSTON, WE HAVE A FUNGUS
Berry, Charles A. Oral history. Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/ oral_histories/oral_histories.htm.
Borman, Frank. Oral history. Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/ oral_histories/oral_histories.htm.
Cernan, Eugene, and Don Davis. The Last Man on the Moon. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999. P. 95.
Gemini VII Composite Air-to-Ground and Onboard Voice Tape Transcription. Vol. 1–3. NASA History Portal: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/ mission_trans/gemini7.htm.
Larson, Elaine. “Hygiene of the Skin: When Is Clean Too Clean?” Emerging Infectious Diseases 7 (2) (March/April 2001). http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no2/larson.htm.
Lovell, James A., Jr. Oral history. Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/ oral_histories/oral_histories.htm.
Milunas, Michele C., Ann F. Rhoads, and J. Russell Mason. “Effectiveness of Odour Repellants for Protecting Ornamental Shrubs from Browsing by White-Tailed Deer.” Crop Protection 13 (5): 393–399.
Popov, I. G., et al. “Investigation of the State of the Human Skin After Prolonged Restriction on Washing.” In Problems of Space Biology, vol. 7. Edited by V. N. Chernigovsky. Moscow: Nanka Publishing Co., 1969. Pp. 386–392. May 1969.
Slonim, A. R. “Effects of Minimal Personal Hygiene and Related Procedures During Prolonged Confinement.” Aerospace Medical Research Laboratories Technical Report AMRL-TR-66-146, October 1966.
Stuster, Jack. “Space Station Habitability Recommendations Based on a Systematic Comparative Analysis of Analogous Conditions.” NASA Contractor Report 3943 (NASA-CR 3943).
11 THE HORIZONTAL STUFF
Allen, C., P. Glasziou, and C. Del Mar. “Bed Rest: A Potentially Harmful Treatment Needing More Careful Evaluation.” Lancet 354: 1229–1234 (1999).
Donahue, Seth W., et al. “Parathyroid Hormone May Maintain Bone Formation in Hibernating Black Bears (Ursus americanus) to Prevent Disuse Osteoporosis.” Journal of Experimental Biology 209: 1630–1638.