Driving to Mars: In the Arctic with NASA on the Human Journey to the Red Planet

by William L. Fox

Devon Island in the Canadian High Arctic is the world’s largest uninhabited island, a place the size of West Virginia nine hundred miles from the North Pole. In its center is the world’s only impact crater in a polar desert, a hole twelve miles across and almost a thousand feet deep formed by an asteroidal comet hitting the Earth 38 million years ago. Every July, two dozen scientists set up camp on the rim of the Haughton Crater, a setting which duplicates as close as any place on Earth the barren Martian landscape. It’s one of a handful of analog environments for Mars — places where the harsh climate, severe geology, and unfamiliar terrain mimic conditions of the planet. Its environment is so hostile that no one has ever colonized more than small areas of its coastline for brief periods, and it's where the NASA practices people on Mars.
Driving to Mars recounts William L. Fox's three trips to Devon, working with the NASA Haughton-Mars Project. This book tells why we explore, how we see the world, and how we see ourselves in it. The flip sides of a single issue will ultimately determine whether or not we can stay alive on Earth.

 

Genres: Space, Science

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this immediately after reading Robert Zubrin's Mars on Earth.

This book describes the work of NASA's Mars analog station on Devon Island in northern Canada. A Mars analog station is a project set in a cold and dry region of the earth for humans to learn how to adapt to a future martian encampment.

Both books are set in the same remote region of Canada at almost the same timeframe. Zubrin's book is a first-hand account of his endeavor to build a Mars analog station in the Canadian sub-Arctic. Fox's book is an observational account about his encounters with NASA's existing Mars analog station, which was established before Zubrin's project.

Fox's writing is more empathetic than Zubrin's and does not veer toward any controversy. Fox's interaction with Zubrin's project is fleeting, and although I expected this book to be a counterpoint to Zubrin, it is that, but only peripherally. Fox does not explicitly compare the two projects, although it seems clear that Fox is wary of Zubrin and did not express much interest in that project.

Fox's book does shed some light on my own misgivings for Zubrin's abrasive, 'my way or the highway' style, and it was good to have that sympathetic perspective.

[Samantha (AK) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part memoir, part history, and part speculation on the human spirit. Fox weaves through his account of time around the Haughton Crater with reflection on how humans came to consider Mars and where we might go from here.

The look into the author's mindset and thought process on how humans relate to unknown terrain was enthralling. However, if you're looking for a straight up account of events, you may want to look elsewhere. While I enjoy the diverse and tangential narratives the author employs, it may not be to everyone's taste.

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haha. Good book. None of y'all will ever be able to read it, though, as it never really got released. I got to read it, though. I'm special.

[Abtok · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything and Everything by Bill Fox should be required reading.