Ad Astra: An Illustrated Guide to Leaving the Planet
Ad Astra: An Illustrated Guide to Leaving the Planet

Author: Dallas Campbell

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2017-10-05

Total Pages: 557

ISBN-13: 1471164063

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'I could have done with a copy of Ad Astra in December 2015!' –Tim Peake ‘A wonderful, wise and witty guide for space explorers everywhere.' – Richard Osman ‘A must read both for intrepid space explorers and misty-eyed dreamers. Now, to space!’ – Hannah Fry ‘Few people are more knowledgeable, celebratory and witty about space travel than Dallas Campbell.’ – Adam Rutherford Need some space? For almost all human history we’ve been firmly rooted to the Earth. And, sure, it's got some good things going for it: nice views, friendly inhabitants, good coffee. Air. But what if you want to get off? Whether you've got itchy feet and need a bit of a break, or you’re looking for a complete change of scene, this book has all the information you'll need to leave, with FREE expert advice from the men and woman who can actually make it happen. Do I need a passport? How do I know if I have the right stuff? Can I take my dog? What spacesuit do I need? Where am I going to go? What am I going to eat? As well as being a deeply impractical guide to getting off the planet, this is an eclectic and beautifully illustrated mix-tape of space travel stories – both real and imagined. From the migrating lunar geese that flew us to the moon in the 1600’s, to Elon Musk’s wild plan to get humans to Mars en masse in the future; from the history of early rocket science to the Soviet tortoises that secretly won the space race. A collection for anyone who has looked up in wonder at the stars... And then wondered how to get there. ‘The next best thing to actually heading off into space.’ – Jim Al-Khalili ‘Few people are more knowledgeable, celebratory and witty about space travel than Dallas Campbell.’ – Adam Rutherford ‘If, like me, you dream of going into space, this is definitely the place to start the journey.’ – Dan Snow ‘A must have volume for astronauts and armchair astronauts alike.’ – Helen Sharman OBE ‘Funny, factual and beautiful.’ – Shaun Keavney ‘Read it, make notes, and be ready when the day comes.’ – Helen Czerski

Nuts and Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World in a Big Way
Nuts and Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World in a Big Way

Author: Roma Agrawal

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2023-11-07

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 1324021535

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Shortlisted for the 2023 Royal Society Science Book Prize A structural engineer examines the seven most basic building blocks of engineering that have shaped the modern world. Some of humanity’s mightiest engineering achievements are small in scale—and, without them, the complex machinery on which our modern world runs would not exist. In Nuts and Bolts, structural engineer Roma Agrawal examines seven of these extraordinary elements: the nail, the wheel, the spring, the magnet, the lens, the string, and the pump. Tracing the evolution from Egyptian nails to modern skyscrapers, and Neanderthal string to musical instruments, Agrawal shows us how even our most sophisticated items are built on the foundations of these ancient and fundamental breakthroughs. She explores an array of intricate technologies—dishwashers, spacesuits, microscopes, suspension bridges, breast pumps—making surprising connections, explaining how they work, and using her own hand-drawn illustrations to bring complex principles to life. Alongside deeply personal experiences, she recounts the stories of remarkable—and often uncredited—scientists, engineers, and innovators from all over the world, and explores the indelible impact these creators and their creations had on society. In preindustrial Britain, nails were so precious that their export to the colonies was banned—and women were among the most industrious nail makers. The washing machine displayed at an industrial fair in Chicago in 1898 was the only machine featured that was designed by a woman. The history of the wheel, meanwhile, starts with pottery, and takes us to India’s independence movement, where making clothes using a spinning wheel was an act of civil disobedience. Eye-opening and engaging, Nuts and Bolts reveals the hidden building blocks of our modern world, and shows how engineering has fundamentally changed the way we live.

Getting Off the Planet
Getting Off the Planet

Author: Mary Jane Chambers

Publisher: Apogee Books

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 124

ISBN-13:

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Today, the training of American astronauts is almost taken for granted, but prior to 1961 no one knew whether humans could function in space at all. Space suits, working in free fall, and surviving the punishing accelerations of launch and re-entry were all complete unknowns. It was well recognised that if we were to send men into space, they would first have to be extensively trained. But what was that training to consist of? And exactly who would provide the training? As it turns out, the training was, at times, as dangerous and demanding as the space flights that followed -- for the training experts as well as the astronauts. At the forefront of the effort to train America's astronauts was Dr Randall Chambers. Over the course of a long and distinguished career he turned his mind (and body) to a wide variety of disciplines, in order to best prepare our astronauts for space flight. It was not unusual for Dr Chambers to put himself in the astronaut's position, literally -- before he would put the astronaut there. Dr Chambers and his co-workers not only had to be the very best in their profession, they had to define and refine that profession as they went along -- pioneers in the truest sense of the word. As the requirements and demands of human space activities increased, the lives of the astronauts were completely dependent on their trainers always being one step ahead of them. Career journalist Mary Jane Chambers has witnessed her husband's career first hand, and has worked with him to present a story that non-scientists will enjoy -- no equations, no charts; but rather a human tale of amazing people. This book is the story of a dedicated man of science, a friend of the astronauts, and an unsung hero of the space age. Behind every successful space program there are special people with the dedication of Dr Randall Chambers.

Bikes and Bloomers
Bikes and Bloomers

Author: Kat Jungnickel

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2020-02-25

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 1912685434

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An illustrated history of the evolution of British women's cycle wear. The bicycle in Victorian Britain is often celebrated as a vehicle of women's liberation. Less noted is another critical technology with which women forged new and mobile public lives—cycle wear. This illustrated account of women's cycle wear from Goldsmiths Press brings together Victorian engineering and radical feminist invention to supply a missing chapter in the history of feminism. Despite its benefits, cycling was a material and ideological minefield for women. Conventional fashions were unworkable, with skirts catching in wheels and tangling in pedals. Yet wearing “rational” cycle wear could provoke verbal and sometimes physical abuse from those threatened by newly mobile women. Seeking a solution, pioneering women not only imagined, made, and wore radical new forms of cycle wear but also patented their inventive designs. The most remarkable of these were convertible costumes that enabled wearers to transform ordinary clothing into cycle wear. Drawing on in-depth archival research and inventive practice, Kat Jungnickel brings to life in rich detail the little-known stories of six inventors of the 1890s. Alice Bygrave, a dressmaker of Brixton, registered four patents for a skirt with a dual pulley system built into its seams. Julia Gill, a court dressmaker of Haverstock Hill, patented a skirt that drew material up the waist using a mechanism of rings or eyelets. Mary and Sarah Pease, sisters from York, patented a skirt that could be quickly converted into a fashionable high-collar cape. Henrietta Müller, a women's rights activist of Maidenhead, patented a three-part cycling suit with a concealed system of loops and buttons to elevate the skirt. And Mary Ann Ward, a gentlewoman of Bristol, patented the “Hyde Park Safety Skirt,” which gathered fabric at intervals using a series of side buttons on the skirt. Their unique contributions to cycling's past continue to shape urban life for contemporary mobile women.

Saturn for My Birthday
Saturn for My Birthday

Author: John McGranaghan

Publisher: Arbordale Publishing

Published: 2008-08-10

Total Pages: 18

ISBN-13: 1607180340

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Jeffrey wants the planet Saturn for his birthday, along with all 47 of its moons. He plans to share his present with friends at school and his teacher, Mrs. Cassini. "For Creative Minds" section includes fun facts about Saturn and the Solar System.

Rebel Cell
Rebel Cell

Author: Kat Arney

Publisher: BenBella Books

Published: 2020-10-20

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1950665518

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Why do we get cancer? Is it our modern diets and unhealthy habits? Chemicals in the environment? An unwelcome genetic inheritance? Or is it just bad luck? The answer is all of these and none of them. We get cancer because we can't avoid it—it's a bug in the system of life itself. Cancer exists in nearly every animal and has afflicted humans as long as our species has walked the earth. In Rebel Cell: Cancer, Evolution, and the New Science of Life's Oldest Betrayal, Kat Arney reveals the secrets of our most formidable medical enemy, most notably the fact that it isn't so much a foreign invader as a double agent: cancer is hardwired into the fundamental processes of life. New evidence shows that this disease is the result of the same evolutionary changes that allowed us to thrive. Evolution helped us outsmart our environment, and it helps cancer outsmart its environment as well—alas, that environment is us. Explaining why "everything we know about cancer is wrong," Arney, a geneticist and award-winning science writer, guides readers with her trademark wit and clarity through the latest research into the cellular mavericks that rebel against the rigid biological "society" of the body and make a leap towards anarchy. We need to be a lot smarter to defeat such a wily foe—smarter even than Darwin himself. In this new world, where we know that every cancer is unique and can evolve its way out of trouble, the old models of treatment have reached their limits. But we are starting to decipher cancer's secret evolutionary playbook, mapping the landscapes in which these rogue cells survive, thrive, or die, and using this knowledge to predict and confound cancer's next move. Rebel Cell is a story about life and death, hope and hubris, nature and nurture. It's about a new way of thinking about what this disease really is and the role it plays in human life. Above all, it's a story about where cancer came from, where it's going, and how we can stop it.

Wally Funk's Race for Space
Wally Funk's Race for Space

Author: Sue Nelson

Publisher: Chicago Review Press

Published: 2019-03-05

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1641601337

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Wally Funk was among the Mercury 13, the first group of American pilots to complete NASA's 1961 Women in Space program. Funk breezed through the rigorous physical and mental tests, her scores beating those of many of the male candidates—even John Glenn. Just one week before Funk was to enter the final phase of training, the entire program was abruptly cancelled. Politics and prejudice meant that none of the more-than-qualified women ever went to space. Undeterred, Funk went on to become one of America's first female aviation inspectors and civilian flight instructors, though her dream of being an astronaut never dimmed. In this offbeat odyssey, journalist and fellow space buff Sue Nelson travels with Wally Funk, now approaching her eightieth birthday, as she races to make her giant leap. Covering their travels across the United States and Europe—taking in NASA's mission control in Houston and Spaceport America in New Mexico, where Funk's ride to space awaits—this is a uniquely intimate and entertaining portrait of a true aviation trailblazer.

Not Necessarily Rocket Science
Not Necessarily Rocket Science

Author: Kellie Gerardi

Publisher: Mango Media Inc.

Published: 2020-11-24

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1642504114

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The Aspiring Astronaut’s Guide to Getting Lost in Outer Space “Kellie is probably one of the best ambassadors for spaceflight in the 21st century that the industry could have.” —Lucy Hawking, author of George's Secret Key to the Universe and host of Audible's Lucy in the Sky. #1 New Release in Science & Math, Essays & Commentary and Astronautics & Space Flight Follow aerospace science professional Kellie Gerardi’s non-traditional path in the space industry as she guides and encourages anyone who has ever dreamed about stars, the solar system, and the galaxies in space. Ever wondered what it’s like to work in outer space? In this candid science memoir and career guide, Gerardi offers an inside look into the industry beginning to eclipse Silicon Valley. Whether you have a space science degree or are looking to learn about stars, Not Necessarily Rocket Science proves there’s room for anyone who is passionate about exploration. What it’s like to be a woman in space. With a space background and a mission to democratize access to space, this female astronaut candidate offers a front row seat to the final frontier. From her adventures training for Mars to testing spacesuits in microgravity, this unique handbook provides inspiration and guidance for aspiring astronauts everywhere. Look inside for answers to questions like: • Will there be beer on Mars? • Why do I need to do one-handed pushups in microgravity? • How can I possibly lose a fortune in outer space? If you’re looking for women in science gifts, astronomy books for adults, or NASA stories—or enjoyed, the Galaxy Girls book, or Letters from an Astrophysicist by Neil deGrasse Tyson—then you’ll love Not Necessarily Rocket Science.

The Big Book of Mars
The Big Book of Mars

Author: Marc Hartzman

Publisher: Quirk Books

Published: 2020-07-07

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1683692101

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The most comprehensive look at our relationship with Mars—yesterday, today, and tomorrow—through history, archival images, pop culture ephemera, and interviews with NASA scientists Mars has been a source of fascination and speculation ever since the ancient Egyptians observed its blood-red hue and named it for their god of war and plague. But it wasn't until the 19th century when “canals” were observed on the surface of the Red Planet, suggesting the presence of water, that scientists, novelists, filmmakers, and entrepreneurs became obsessed with the question of whether there’s life on Mars. Since then, Mars has fully invaded pop culture, inspiring its own day of the week (Tuesday), an iconic Looney Tunes character, and many novels and movies, from Ray Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles to The Martian. It’s this cultural familiarity with the fourth planet that continues to inspire advancements in Mars exploration, from NASA’s launch of the Mars rover Perseverance to Elon Musk’s quest to launch a manned mission to Mars through SpaceX by 2024. Perhaps, one day, we’ll be able to answer the questions our ancestors asked when they looked up at the night sky millennia ago.

Meteorite Hunting
Meteorite Hunting

Author: Geoffrey Notkin

Publisher: Aerolite Meteorites, LLC

Published: 2011-02-01

Total Pages: 84

ISBN-13: 9780984754809

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"This is the definitive guide to finding meteorites, written by one of the best-known personalities in the field and co-host of the award-winning hit television series Meteorite Men. It includes detailed information on how to locate, excavate, and identify rocks from space, and is filled with photographs and insider information from an internationally recognized meteorite specialist." --Back cover.