Get up close and personal with science as Andrew Kessler narrates his hilarious journey inside NASA s"Phoenix"Mars mission a historic enterprise manned by a motley crew of rocket scientistsThe"Phoenix"Mars mission was the first man-made probe ever sent to the Martian arctic. Its purpose was to find out how climate change could turn a warm, wet planet (read: Earth) into a cold, barren desert (read: Mars). Along the way, "Phoenix"discovered a giant frozen ocean trapped beneath the north pole of Mars, exotic food for aliens, and liquid water, and laid the foundation for NASA s current exploration of Mars using the"Curiosity"rover.This is not science fiction. It s fact. And for the luckiest fanboy in fandom, it was the best vacation ever. Andrew Kessler spent the summer of 2008 in NASA s mission control with one hundred thirty of the world s best planetary scientists and engineers as they carried out this ambitious operation. He came back with a story of human drama about modern-day pioneers battling NASA politics, temperamental robots, and the bizarre world of daily life in mission control."