"Scientists believe that any extraterrestrial life in our solar system would most likely be found on Europa, a moon of Jupiter. This book chronicles the work of a tenacious team of researchers who have spent decades investigating that possibility, despite obstacles both bureaucratic (NASA’s long-standing preoccupation with Mars) and physical: Europa lies within a 'pulsing, rippling' belt of radiation and is covered by an ice shell 'kilometers thicker than any hole ever drilled on earth.'" — New Yorker
“Exceptionally absorbing and thrilling. ... This is a book celebrating the resilience and perseverance of a group of smart people who worked relentlessly to make a Europa mission a reality. ... The story up to here is worth being told, and The Mission does it masterfully.” — Nature
“Magnificent. ... This book cannot answer the question of what—if anything—lurks in Europa's dark abyss, but it masterfully reveals with remarkable clarity what lies within the hearts of the men and women determined to find out.” — Scientific American
“Brown is a nimble, gifted writer, downright Dickensian in his pointed descriptions and irreverent humor… Brown’s language drew me in to the world of interplanetary science and made me a part of it. The Europa Clipper mission is scheduled to launch in 2024 and, thanks to The Mission , I will be looking up, dreaming of Europa’s oceans, and those plumes, and waiting for news of what we find there.” — Air Mail
“The Mission reads almost like a novel. Brown immersed himself in the lives of his characters and their work, coming away from his research with a richly realized story about fascinating characters." — Houston Chronicle
“In The Mission , David W Brown tells the remarkable story of the team of scientists whose determination made the Europa Clipper mission happen, despite resistance from all quarters.” — BBC Science Focus, “Ten Best Science Books of the Month”
"With deftness and vigor, David W. Brown brings to life the intricate science, the historical heft and, most exquisitely, the beating hearts at the center of his sprawling, immersive story. With rich characters, an epic struggle and a Herculean resolve, The Mission is an extraordinary tale, extraordinarily told." — Megan Abbott, bestselling author of Dare Me and Give Me Your Hand
“Europa is the sparkly jewel of the Jupiter system and learning its mysteries is a delight, but it's the people and their dreams and their stories that shine in The Mission . David W. Brown deftly weaves together the science, the history, and the politics to write the definitive account of one of NASA’s most exciting upcoming missions.” — Dr. Mike Brown, Caltech astronomer and author of How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming
“This is an epic, delicious, funny yet serious and inspiring account of the tortuous bureaucratic and engineering journey to send a robotic mission to Jupiter's icy moon Europa. For those of us who believe the search for extraterrestrial life is the most thrilling exploration of our lifetime, this is the book to read.” — Mark Bowden
"Absolutely riveting from the very first page. David W. Brown is a beautiful writer who brings this incredible story to life in sharp, surprising prose. It is a true pleasure to read." — Aryn Kyle, award-winning author of The God of Animals and Boys and Girls Like You and Me
"This is one of the most impressive works of nonfiction I’ve ever read. It defies genre in many ways. It’s science, yes, but it’s driven by characters—brilliant, real-life scientists with contagious determination. David W. Brown turns complex planetary science into lyrical, accessible prose... It was compulsively readable and astonishing in scholarship." — Erin Entrada Kelly, Newbery Medal-winning author of Hello, Universe
“An enthusiastic account of an interplanetary probe to a distant moon... NASA continues to accomplish great feats, and more are in the offing, including this book’s subject: the 2024 launch of a multibillion-dollar spacecraft to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa. ... Brown engagingly describes the cutthroat NASA political landscape... A delightful slice of NASA life.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Brown skillfully braids biography, science, obsession, and accounts of bureaucracy-wrangling into this mesmerizing tale of 'good, bare-fisted science.' Salted with pop culture references and humor, Brown’s fascinating outing will entertain anyone curious about space exploration.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Brown leaves no door closed as he covers the science, logistics, personalities, and politics of this extraordinary NASA mission. His extensively researched, humorous, raucous, dramatic, and pop-culture-and science-fiction-laced immersion in planetary science will have readers hanging on every word.” — Booklist
“This true story has not been previously written about in such detail. … An engaging read for all, especially for anyone curious about the details of space exploration.” — Library Journal
“The Mission is as much about the people behind space exploration as it is about the science of distant moons. ... [Brown] vividly captures the challenges, triumphs and disappointments they have confronted. … Combining science and technology with the emotional human experience, The Mission is a fresh look at the future of space exploration.” — BookPage
"This beautiful book is a gem of an introduction to our Solar System and how, over decades, human minds and robotic spacecraft have learned more about it." — BBC Sky at Night Magazine
“The Mission is fascinating. … Poetic.” — The Times (UK)
In The Mission , David W Brown tells the remarkable story of the team of scientists whose determination made the Europa Clipper mission happen, despite resistance from all quarters.
Brown is a nimble, gifted writer, downright Dickensian in his pointed descriptions and irreverent humor… Brown’s language drew me in to the world of interplanetary science and made me a part of it. The Europa Clipper mission is scheduled to launch in 2024 and, thanks to The Mission , I will be looking up, dreaming of Europa’s oceans, and those plumes, and waiting for news of what we find there.
Magnificent. ... This book cannot answer the question of what—if anything—lurks in Europa's dark abyss, but it masterfully reveals with remarkable clarity what lies within the hearts of the men and women determined to find out.
The Mission reads almost like a novel. Brown immersed himself in the lives of his characters and their work, coming away from his research with a richly realized story about fascinating characters."
"With deftness and vigor, David W. Brown brings to life the intricate science, the historical heft and, most exquisitely, the beating hearts at the center of his sprawling, immersive story. With rich characters, an epic struggle and a Herculean resolve, The Mission is an extraordinary tale, extraordinarily told."
Brown leaves no door closed as he covers the science, logistics, personalities, and politics of this extraordinary NASA mission. His extensively researched, humorous, raucous, dramatic, and pop-culture-and science-fiction-laced immersion in planetary science will have readers hanging on every word.
01/01/2021
Journalist Brown provides a narrative of one of the most ambitious science projects ever conceived: NASA's deep-space mission to Europa. This true story has not been previously written about in such detail. Europa, one of the moons orbiting Jupiter, has miles of ice that may contain an ocean that may contain life. The story begins with Bob Pappalardo, a former disciple of Carl Sagan while a student at Cornell University. Pappalardo had multiple stops in academia and developed a doctoral thesis that focused on Jupiter's moons. He would become Project Scientist for a motley crew focused on developing a mission to explore Europa. This eclectic team encounters multiple challenges, including navigating the complexities of NASA, the White House, Congress, members of academia, and even Jupiter itself. The grit and persistence, mixed with the idealism of the group, led to creative approaches for completing the mission, including hitching a ride on another rocket launch designed to send a robot to Jupiter. This inspiring story provides a look into some of the characteristics needed to make change in a large industrial complex. Extensive notes are provided for further research. VERDICT An engaging read for all, especially for anyone curious about the details of space exploration.—Gary Medina, El Camino Coll., Torrance, CA
★ 2020-10-08 The inner workings of NASA through an enthusiastic account of an interplanetary probe to a distant moon.
Although space travel hasn’t enraptured the U.S. since the 1969 Apollo moon landing, NASA continues to accomplish great feats, and more are in the offing, including this book’s subject: the 2024 launch of a multibillion-dollar spacecraft to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa. To puzzled readers, journalist and Army veteran Brown explains that the Galileo probe, which orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003, discovered a liquid water ocean beneath Europa’s icy surface. Life requires liquid water, and despite a torrent of probes and landers, none has turned up on Mars. No president since Lyndon Johnson has shown a genuine interest in space travel, a feeling shared by Congress with rare exceptions, including one of Brown’s unlikely heroes, a conservative from Texas. Furthermore, when Congress doles out tax money, anything involving astronauts takes priority. Even space buffs struggle to name a discovery produced by the manned space station, but robotic probes often return spectacular discoveries. Despite this, unmanned programs struggle for attention in this “astronaut-led, astronaut-centric organization,” but its scientists and engineers contain many brilliant workaholics. Brown delivers breathless biographies of a dozen as he describes their effort, now passing 20 years, to explore Europa. Since the 1990s, they have seen several proposals approved and then killed, but the Europa Clipper mission will probably happen for the only reason space programs happen: Congress approved the money. Readers will roll their eyes but keep reading as Brown engagingly describes the cutthroat NASA political landscape, in which Mars gets the most attention, leaving advocates of other planets fuming. Leading-edge technology usually goes over budget, but Congress rarely makes up the difference, so high priority space programs that run short extract money from other programs and sometimes get them cancelled. Few experts expect the 2024 launch date to hold, but some time after 2030, we may find evidence of fish on Europa.
A delightful slice of NASA life.
Exceptionally absorbing and thrilling. ... This is a book celebrating the resilience and perseverance of a group of smart people who worked relentlessly to make a Europa mission a reality. ... The story up to here is worth being told, and The Mission does it masterfully.
Europa is the sparkly jewel of the Jupiter system and learning its mysteries is a delight, but it's the people and their dreams and their stories that shine in The Mission . David W. Brown deftly weaves together the science, the history, and the politics to write the definitive account of one of NASA’s most exciting upcoming missions.
"Absolutely riveting from the very first page. David W. Brown is a beautiful writer who brings this incredible story to life in sharp, surprising prose. It is a true pleasure to read."
"Scientists believe that any extraterrestrial life in our solar system would most likely be found on Europa, a moon of Jupiter. This book chronicles the work of a tenacious team of researchers who have spent decades investigating that possibility, despite obstacles both bureaucratic (NASA’s long-standing preoccupation with Mars) and physical: Europa lies within a 'pulsing, rippling' belt of radiation and is covered by an ice shell 'kilometers thicker than any hole ever drilled on earth.'"
This is an epic, delicious, funny yet serious and inspiring account of the tortuous bureaucratic and engineering journey to send a robotic mission to Jupiter's icy moon Europa. For those of us who believe the search for extraterrestrial life is the most thrilling exploration of our lifetime, this is the book to read.
"Scientists believe that any extraterrestrial life in our solar system would most likely be found on Europa, a moon of Jupiter. This book chronicles the work of a tenacious team of researchers who have spent decades investigating that possibility, despite obstacles both bureaucratic (NASA’s long-standing preoccupation with Mars) and physical: Europa lies within a 'pulsing, rippling' belt of radiation and is covered by an ice shell 'kilometers thicker than any hole ever drilled on earth.'"
"This is one of the most impressive works of nonfiction I’ve ever read. It defies genre in many ways. It’s science, yes, but it’s driven by characters—brilliant, real-life scientists with contagious determination. David W. Brown turns complex planetary science into lyrical, accessible prose... It was compulsively readable and astonishing in scholarship."
The Mission is as much about the people behind space exploration as it is about the science of distant moons. ... [Brown] vividly captures the challenges, triumphs and disappointments they have confronted. … Combining science and technology with the emotional human experience, The Mission is a fresh look at the future of space exploration.
The Mission is fascinating. … Poetic.
"This beautiful book is a gem of an introduction to our Solar System and how, over decades, human minds and robotic spacecraft have learned more about it."
BBC Sky at Night Magazine
Brown leaves no door closed as he covers the science, logistics, personalities, and politics of this extraordinary NASA mission. His extensively researched, humorous, raucous, dramatic, and pop-culture-and science-fiction-laced immersion in planetary science will have readers hanging on every word.
Exceptionally absorbing and thrilling. ... This is a book celebrating the resilience and perseverance of a group of smart people who worked relentlessly to make a Europa mission a reality. ... The story up to here is worth being told, and The Mission does it masterfully.