The Mission: A True Story

The Mission: A True Story

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  • Create Date：2021-01-30 04:15:36
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：David W Brown
  • ISBN：9780062654427
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Summary

"An extraordinary tale， extraordinarily told。" –Megan Abbott

A masterful， genre-defying narrative of the most ambitious science project ever conceived: NASA’s deep space mission to Europa， the Jovian moon where might swim the first known alien life in our solar system

In the spirit of Tom Wolfe and John McPhee， The Mission is an exuberant master class of creative nonfiction that reveals how a motley， determined few expanded the horizon of human achievement。

When scientists discovered the first ocean beyond Earth， they had two big questions: “Is it habitable？” and “How do we get there？” To answer the first， they had to solve the second， and so began a vivacious team’s twenty-year odyssey to mount a mission to Europa， the ocean moon of Jupiter。

Standing in their way: NASA， fanatically consumed with landing robots on Mars; the White House， which never saw a science budget it couldn’t cut; Congress， fixated on going to the moon or Mars—anywhere， really， to give astronauts something to do; rivals in academia， who wanted instead to go to Saturn; and even Jupiter itself， which guards Europa in a pulsing， rippling radi­ation belt—a halo of death whose conditions are like those that follow a detonated thermonuclear bomb。

The Mission is the Homeric， never-before-told story of modern space exploration， and a magnificent portrait of the inner lives of scientists who study the solar system’s mysterious outer planets。 David W。 Brown chronicles the remarkable saga of how Europa was won， and what it takes to get things done—both down here， and up there。

Editor Reviews

★ 11/23/2020

Journalist Brown （Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry） brings to vivid life the 17-year effort to put together a mission to Europa， one of Jupiter’s moons。 At the heart of the quest is Robert Pappalardo， a plucky planetary scientist whose expertise was in “icy moons” （and who studied under Carl Sagan at Cornell）。 Dissatisfied with his life as a professor and at the request of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory， in 2006 Pappalardo “packed his life and his cat and pointed his car westerly” to California to build a program to find life on Europa。 There， he “oversaw all decisions affecting the project science” and in 2014 met with the administrator of NASA， to whom he “made the science case for Europa。” Meanwhile， NASA was focused on sending robots to Mars， White House support for space exploration waffled from one administration to the next， and rival planetary scientists fought to fund their own projects。 Not until 2015 was the Europa Clipper mission greenlighted by NASA。 （Its launch date is still undetermined。） 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。 Agent: Stacia Decker， Dunow， Carlson & Lerner。 （Jan。）

Publishers Weekly

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Reviews

B&NAlisaS ，

What a cast of characters！ This is narrative non-fiction at its best， detailing the most ambitious science project ever conceived -- NASA's mission to Europa。 Much funnier than I expected。

Valerie Fazio ，

I gave this book to my dad to read， who wouldn't stop raving about it from the moment he read the cover， up until two days after finishing it。 He appreciated and enjoyed the in-depth look at NASA and this specific space mission。 The book gave a deep， insightful look on NASA's politics and innerworkings of the organization。 Goodreads giveaway， I received an advanced reading copy。I'll probably end up reading this book， too， at a later time。 I gave this book to my dad to read， who wouldn't stop raving about it from the moment he read the cover， up until two days after finishing it。 He appreciated and enjoyed the in-depth look at NASA and this specific space mission。 The book gave a deep， insightful look on NASA's politics and innerworkings of the organization。 Goodreads giveaway， I received an advanced reading copy。I'll probably end up reading this book， too， at a later time。 。。。more

Evalyn ，

I remember writing a paper in high school about the prospects of life on Europa， circa 2008。 Hence I was tickled when I was chosen as a giveaway winner for an advanced reader's copy！But what I liked most about this narration was the deep dive into the career paths and trajectories of the various individuals that came to be part of this mission， or the studies along the way。 Gave me a few nights of existential "what am I doing with my life？" as I pondered my own career path。 Even though my histor I remember writing a paper in high school about the prospects of life on Europa， circa 2008。 Hence I was tickled when I was chosen as a giveaway winner for an advanced reader's copy！But what I liked most about this narration was the deep dive into the career paths and trajectories of the various individuals that came to be part of this mission， or the studies along the way。 Gave me a few nights of existential "what am I doing with my life？" as I pondered my own career path。 Even though my history isn't related to space science， it is science-laden enough （I tried graduate school myself before finding it too stressful）， thus my reading did give me a lot of pause of just how it might still change to bring me back to something I enjoy more than I do now， whether I'm presently aware I'll like it or not。Brown makes this topic very accessible to a lay person， very conversational， and downright "I didn't expect that sort of writing style in a nonfiction work！" It really flowed and felt quite immersive， and I kept track of the "story" despite there being so many names。 Brown really rallied around the project names more to help keep the chronological thread。Overall an enjoyable read。 I look forward to recommending to my space nerd friends。 。。。more

David V。 ，

Received as an ARC via my employer Barnes & Noble。 Once you've read the subtitle of this book you know the plot！ It's the true story of how a seemingly mismatched group of people come together to develop a program with appropriate designs and costs to send a rocket and lander to Europa （a moon of Jupiter）。 The similarities among this group are an unending fascination with planetary sciences; academic brilliance; the ability to function as a team; intense curiosity; and perseverance （sometimes fo Received as an ARC via my employer Barnes & Noble。 Once you've read the subtitle of this book you know the plot！ It's the true story of how a seemingly mismatched group of people come together to develop a program with appropriate designs and costs to send a rocket and lander to Europa （a moon of Jupiter）。 The similarities among this group are an unending fascination with planetary sciences; academic brilliance; the ability to function as a team; intense curiosity; and perseverance （sometimes for years！）。 The back stories of many NASA projects are truly amazing。 The conflicts seem to never end: funding and Congress， battling personalities， agency competitiveness， countries seeking glory， and competing problem solutions。 This book would make an excellent documentary。 。。。more

Erin Kelly ，

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 Brown turns complex planetary science into lyrical， accessible prose without being condescending or pedantic。 It was compulsively readable and astonishing in scholarship。Recommended。 +

David ，

Watch enough space movies， read enough space books， whether science fact or science fiction， and there’s a moment you’ll see play out time and time again – And Then A Rocket Appears On The Pad。Maybe it’s not a rocket。 Maybe it’s a starship or a science probe。 But the moment plays out the same。 An incredibly complex piece of machine appears out of nowhere – machina ex deus – having and needing no origin， and then the “real story” begins。But rockets and starships and science probes don’t appear ou Watch enough space movies， read enough space books， whether science fact or science fiction， and there’s a moment you’ll see play out time and time again – And Then A Rocket Appears On The Pad。Maybe it’s not a rocket。 Maybe it’s a starship or a science probe。 But the moment plays out the same。 An incredibly complex piece of machine appears out of nowhere – machina ex deus – having and needing no origin， and then the “real story” begins。But rockets and starships and science probes don’t appear out of nowhere。 They do have origins。 For every rocket that appears on a pad， there’s a story of toil and ingenuity that explains how it got there。David W。 Brown’s “The Mission” is not that story。 “The Mission” is the story before that story。Before a rocket appears on a pad， before a space probe appears in a payload fairing， before a starship appears in the stars， there is an official program， a concerted effort of the aforementioned toil and ingenuity， and multiple flavors of engineering and probably some science。But before that official program， there’s an idea。 A dream。“The Mission” is that story。 The titular Mission is a mission to Europa， a moon of Jupiter， a smallish orb of rock and water and ice that looms far larger than its physical size in the landscape of solar system science because of that water。 On Earth， where there’s water， there’s life。 And Europa not only has twice as much water as the pale blue dot where we live， it’s conveniently spewing that water into space， right out there for a visiting spacecraft to taste。“The Mission” is not a story of flying a yet-unflown Europa mission， nor a story of building a yet-unbuilt yet-unflown Europa mission。 It’s the story of an idea， a dream dreamt over decades to explore this strange new world， and perhaps to seek out new life in its ocean。It is still， most definitely， a story of toil and ingenuity。 It is also a very human story， and it is there that Brown elevates his subject from interesting to captivating。As an experienced journalist， Brown has a portfolio packed with well-told space stories。 He has a demonstrated knack for taking “rocket science” and not only making it accessible， not only conveying Why It Matters， but also capturing Why It’s Awesome， finding amidst the data the things that stir souls。That talent is brought fully to bear in “The Mission，” and impressively so – it’s one thing to bring that level of creativity to short-form non-fiction， but here Brown sprints a marathon， maintaining the same engaging style over hundreds of pages he delivers on the first。The heart of “The Mission，” however， is a very human heart。 It’s a story laden with science spacecraft and alien worlds and trajectory comparisons， but it’s a story about people。 Brown’s tapestry here weaves the story of its Europa mission through the lives of the people who have touched， and been touched by， the dream of that mission， interlacing space science with chicken farms and car wrecks and former NSYNC member Lance Bass。At the end of “The Mission” the call of Europa is still calling。 Its mysteries are still mysterious。 But Brown has pulled back the veil on another little-seen world – a world of men and women with dogged determination to clad a dream in metal and propel it toward the stars。 。。。more

David Brown ，

Well I thought it was a masterpiece of modern creative nonfiction， but I am way， way biased here。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Mission: A True Story

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Mission: A True Story&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Mission: A True Story&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0