The Red Planet has captured the interest of Earth-dwellers for centuries, the destination of many fictional voyages and the home of many hostile and friendly alien races. No human has set foot on Mars--yet! But as we gather more and more knowledge of Mars, the possibility of a manned mission to Mars, and perhaps even a long-term human presence there, becomes more and more real.
Ron Miller's book Curiosity's Mission on Mars: Exploring the Red Planet introduces the Curiosity rover, which has, for almost 2 years, been roving about Mars gathering data and increasing our knowledge of Mars. The Curiosity is the latest in a series of Mars missions, which has included rovers and orbiting vessels. None of the predecessors, however, have gathered as much or as important information as what Curiosity has an will continue to do.
Although Curiosity's Mission on Mars is written for older elementary school and middle school students, and will surely find a home in school libraries, there is plenty here to interest readers of all ages. Younger readers may be put off by some of the more technical sections of the text, but the book is arranged with plenty of sidebars, photos, and illustrations to invite the casual reader who might not read the book straight through.
I enjoyed the accessibility of the content that did not insult the reader. Clearly Miller is appealing to readers interested in space exploration, and doesn't skimp on basic scientific information. Hopefully his young readers will be inspired to work towards the ultimate goal: terraforming and colonization of Mars. With all that we are continuing to learn from Curiosity, science fiction is moving closer and closer to science fact.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
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