The Mission (A True Story)
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- Author：David W. Brown
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Summary
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。
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。
Reviews
Greg
，
I expected this book to be a bit dry and I have seen a number of reviewers who found it so， but I thought it moved along pretty well。 There were a lot of characters to keep track of and we got a bit of backstory on many of them （some of which was worthwhile， some not so much）。 Everyone was presented as somewhere on the scale between extremely smart and brilliant which I find a little hard to believe， having worked in government and having followed NASA's troubled history through the years。 The B I expected this book to be a bit dry and I have seen a number of reviewers who found it so， but I thought it moved along pretty well。 There were a lot of characters to keep track of and we got a bit of backstory on many of them （some of which was worthwhile， some not so much）。 Everyone was presented as somewhere on the scale between extremely smart and brilliant which I find a little hard to believe， having worked in government and having followed NASA's troubled history through the years。 The Better， Faster， Cheaper years were pretty bad as I remember， but it was interesting to see the successes they had regardless。 With spaceflight， it's always the bad stuff we remember。 This subject matter was frustrating in nature （not the author's fault！） because the central theme was about the effort it took to get the Europa Flyby Mission launched。 The book details all the people， time， effort and circumstances that came to pass to get it pushed to active mission status。 As always seems to be the case with NASA， while the book suggested 2022-2023 might be the earliest it would launch （arriving at Jupiter's moon Europa in 2025）， I see that now it is set to launch in 2024 and arrive in 2030。 So the SLS system the book said they were going to use to get it there in about 3 years is not happening; instead it's a private launch and I guess gravity assist that will ping-pong it around the solar system for 6 years？ Anyway， the writing is excellent， the story has good pacing and we have what appears to be a happy ending。 But stay tuned because you never know。。。 。。。more
Allan Kaster
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The audiobook made for a very good listen。 I got a kick out of the author's discourse about the Katy Freeway as I'm quite familiar with this stretch of I-10。 Overall， I thoroughly enjoyed this title。 The audiobook made for a very good listen。 I got a kick out of the author's discourse about the Katy Freeway as I'm quite familiar with this stretch of I-10。 Overall， I thoroughly enjoyed this title。 。。。more
Jim
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DNF。
Cody Boteler
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God this book took me forever to read。 It was enjoyable and obviously beautifully reported。 But I felt， a bit， as if this could have instead been a really good magazine story or maybe a series， instead of a full book。 But I do sure love a book with dozens of pages of notes and reporting references。 The writing was itself super fun！ But the whole thing was just dense as hell。
Diane Payne
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Who hasn’t looked up towards the sky and wondered about life on planets？ David W。 Brown not only found the scientists who started wondering about this life beyond Earth， but brings them to life in this incredible journey evolved around Europa。 Not only is this book filled with fascinating details about NASA， the deeply personal stories of the people involved on this mission allows the readers to feel so much more connected to these people， sharing their same lofty goals， believing we are capable Who hasn’t looked up towards the sky and wondered about life on planets？ David W。 Brown not only found the scientists who started wondering about this life beyond Earth， but brings them to life in this incredible journey evolved around Europa。 Not only is this book filled with fascinating details about NASA， the deeply personal stories of the people involved on this mission allows the readers to feel so much more connected to these people， sharing their same lofty goals， believing we are capable of doing so much more。 David’s wry observations and lively prose kept me happily flipping the pages， continuously wondering what will happen next。 。。。more
Jennifer
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Very unexpetedly entertaining for the material。 Loved the first 150 pages。 Then there were a lot of different names to remember and lots of minutae。 Admittedly skipped some stuff。。。 Sweet ending - it’s a cliffhanger！
Oleleho
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My review has been mostly done by a lot of readers here。Just go to read those 4 and 5 star reviewers。 They really represent my evaluation of this excellent book。
Andrew
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The scope of this story is ambitious， and in my estimation overly so。
Kristin Tolle
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How a tabloid writer turned a NASA scientists and JPL engineers into sounding like petulant， backbiting， kindergarteners， whilst boring you to tears with 3 generations heredity and decor decisions of the Marriott hotel。 Mr。 Brown needs a lesson in science。 It is always at the behest of its patrons--Kepler， Copernicus， etc。 JPL and NASA's patrons are the American people。 So doing a book that should have been 75% shorter and lighter on SF cabbies double honk， inner （unspoken） thoughts and dietary How a tabloid writer turned a NASA scientists and JPL engineers into sounding like petulant， backbiting， kindergarteners， whilst boring you to tears with 3 generations heredity and decor decisions of the Marriott hotel。 Mr。 Brown needs a lesson in science。 It is always at the behest of its patrons--Kepler， Copernicus， etc。 JPL and NASA's patrons are the American people。 So doing a book that should have been 75% shorter and lighter on SF cabbies double honk， inner （unspoken） thoughts and dietary choices would have been a better approach。 To the author I say， 'The Daily Mail is hiring your ilk。' To the people in it， I'm certain that you felt excited that this person wanted to write about you， your life， your parents， your grandparents， ad naseum， but you should have gotten someone that knew something about science， in general， and astroscience in particular to write this book。Not only is the chocked full of wasteful prose from how loud the hallways are at AGU to the artwork in meeting rooms， it jumps hither thither leaving you over and over again struggling with the time-line of events。 You are in 1939。 You are in 2013， you are in 1954， you are in 2010。He repeats things over and over creating more unnecessary content。 I kept asking myself， does the author think we are idiots or does he realize that once we see the pattern we'll start skipping--which is spot on。 From the， aptly named， Chapter 11 forward， I never read another word of backstory。 If the date wasn't current， I passed over it and all the silliness about decor。 There's context and the there's CONTEXT。 But when you know nothing about the science， I guess a building's history and architecture is what you write about。Yes， people make this happen。 Real people with real lives。 And that's a good reminder for those of is that admire these people for their perseverance。 But this book reads like a hack job of two well-respected agencies for the purpose of vanity--and little else。 。。。more
Claire Holroyde
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The first singularity you’ll notice about THE MISSION by David W。 Brown is its 82-word subtitle。 The lettering takes up the lion share of the cover and pushes an image of Europa nearly out of view。 It’s an apt metaphor for the many mysteries of this Jovian moon that are beyond our reach。 There is a global ocean under the planet’s thick crust of ice that is three times larger than Earth’s and contains the three components thought vital to creating life as we know it: water， organic molecules， and The first singularity you’ll notice about THE MISSION by David W。 Brown is its 82-word subtitle。 The lettering takes up the lion share of the cover and pushes an image of Europa nearly out of view。 It’s an apt metaphor for the many mysteries of this Jovian moon that are beyond our reach。 There is a global ocean under the planet’s thick crust of ice that is three times larger than Earth’s and contains the three components thought vital to creating life as we know it: water， organic molecules， and chemical energy。 Scientists guess that it takes five hundred million years to create a simple lifeform， and Europa’s ocean has existed for more than four billion。Working within the outer planets community at NASA， is a small team of steadfast scientists that has built and rebuilt the future space mission to Europa。 Now back to that subtitle:How a Disciple of Carl Sagan， an Ex-Motocross Racer， a Texas Tea Party Congressman， the World's Worst Typewriter Saleswoman， California Mountain People， and an Anonymous NASA Functionary Went to War with Mars， Survived an Insurgency at Saturn， Traded Blows with Washington， and Stole a Ride on an Alabama Moon Rocket to Send a Space Robot to Jupiter in Search of the Second Garden of Eden at the Bottom of an Alien Ocean Inside of an Ice World Called Europa （A True Story）。It’s the most artful book summary I’ve ever seen。 That Brown could condense 380 pages filled with detailed personal backgrounds， innerworkings of NASA， the Big Bang Theory， early astronomy， planetary geology， Washington politics， military strategy， and even 2001: A Space Odyssey trivia， into such playful language speaks to Brown’s talent as a writer。 The pace is exploratory as each member of the team is introduced with backstory leading up to the present。 As a team collaborating behind the scenes at NASA， they solve seemingly impossible challenges: maximizing scientific outcomes with equipment that can withstand the Jovian radiation belt， reaching Europa’s liquid water below 19-25 kilometers of ice， and competing against rival teams for billions of dollars in a zero-sum game amid budget reductions。 David W。 Brown’s research is faultless。 Any reader will be gobsmacked by his level of detail， but where Brown shines is creative non-fiction。 His dynamic literary prose is brimming with personality that is friendly and fun-loving， but still sharp with perfect comedic timing。 No other writer could have delivered this story in the same way。 Here’s Brown giving our first glimpse of Europa:“Looking down and to the horizon， an astronaut on Europa is casting her eyes across a post-apocalyptic Antarctica: an endless tundra of gashed ice。 In places， it is snowman white—the stuff of pure water。 Elsewhere， it is sepia， seared and poisoned by the radiation belt into which Europa is submerged。 Those gashes: in shadows they are cinnamon， scarlet， sienna， and they break up the landscape as though the whole world had been smashed on a marble floor and then reassembled haphazardly。 There are steep cliffs and deep troughs and Grand Canyons of ice the color of prison cells。”As much as Brown can wax poetic about planets and their moons， he can also deliver a swift， philosophical punch to the gut: “The Dark Ages are always only a day away。” Packed with science and human insight， books like THE MISSION are the light that keep those Dark Ages at bay。 。。。more
Tommy Estlund
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Very fun， very informative。 Really enjoyable and would definitely recommend。
Chris
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I won this in a goodreads。com giveaway。A fascinating "how-it-gets-done" look at space exploration， the politics involved， with a bit of "is there life out there" thrown in to keep it really interesting。Finally， learning science is fun！Highly recommended。 I won this in a goodreads。com giveaway。A fascinating "how-it-gets-done" look at space exploration， the politics involved， with a bit of "is there life out there" thrown in to keep it really interesting。Finally， learning science is fun！Highly recommended。 。。。more
Pop Bop
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Hits the Popular Science Sweet SpotThis is a fine and interesting recounting of the progress to date of efforts to get a Europa science mission off the ground。Some books like this are loaded with overly detailed biographies of the players and are densely packed with the intricate details of bureaucratic wrangling - all peppered with bits of grievance and payback。 Some books are loosey-goosey superficial puff pieces。 This book avoids all of those sorts of pitfalls。 We see the development of the E Hits the Popular Science Sweet SpotThis is a fine and interesting recounting of the progress to date of efforts to get a Europa science mission off the ground。Some books like this are loaded with overly detailed biographies of the players and are densely packed with the intricate details of bureaucratic wrangling - all peppered with bits of grievance and payback。 Some books are loosey-goosey superficial puff pieces。 This book avoids all of those sorts of pitfalls。 We see the development of the Europa project from the points of view mostly of all of the major players， with enough bio to give life to the actors and enough detail to drive home the complexity of the mission。 The book is well organized。 We follow a time line of sorts， with chapters centered on important milestones in the development of the project。 Around each of those clearly explained milestones the author spins out asides and digressions that provide background and context for the developments。 This is where most of the science comes in。 So， for example， you learn about how plumes of water vapor were discovered on Europa， why this was important as science， how and why this affected the involved scientists， and then how this finding was presented in the context of the budget and mission approval process。 The author's gift is the ability to mix all of this together in an engaging and accessible fashion， with no one aspect overpowering the other。 You could consider this book as a case study on federal agency bureaucracy， or as a science text， or as you-are-there popular science， or as a series of biographical sketches of the real planetary scientists behind NASA's achievements。 It works on every level。 Can't ask for much more than that。（Please note that I found this book while browsing the local library's Kindle books， and downloaded it for free。 I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book。） 。。。more
Angus McKeogh
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I imagined I’d love this book。 I love space and astronomy and as a kid I’d read astronomy magazine。 I took astronomy classes at university。 And I thought this book would be chock-full of interesting anecdotes and space trivia and miscellany。However it turns out this book is mainly a disconnected set of short biographies and the it’s all about appropriations and funding as that relates to different explorer missions into space。 I was truly shocked by how boring the whole thing was。 I know that’s I imagined I’d love this book。 I love space and astronomy and as a kid I’d read astronomy magazine。 I took astronomy classes at university。 And I thought this book would be chock-full of interesting anecdotes and space trivia and miscellany。However it turns out this book is mainly a disconnected set of short biographies and the it’s all about appropriations and funding as that relates to different explorer missions into space。 I was truly shocked by how boring the whole thing was。 I know that’s a legitimate aspect of space exploration， funding and appropriations for different projects， but I wasn’t really wanting to read about it。 。。。more
Lady Brainsample
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Abandoned ~100 pages in。I have a preference for focused nonfiction， and this book was way too broad and had too much detail。
Mal Warwick
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On October 10， 2024， a NASA spacecraft dubbed the Europa Clipper is scheduled to launch toward the large Jovian moon of Europa。 It’s expected to arrive in April 2030。 The Europa Clipper is just the final expression of a long procession of planned missions to Europa and the other Galilean moons of Jupiter that began in 1997 but never got off the drawing-board。 And therein lies a fascinating tale。 It’s the subject of David W。 Brown’s extraordinary study of NASA and Big Science in action， The Missi On October 10， 2024， a NASA spacecraft dubbed the Europa Clipper is scheduled to launch toward the large Jovian moon of Europa。 It’s expected to arrive in April 2030。 The Europa Clipper is just the final expression of a long procession of planned missions to Europa and the other Galilean moons of Jupiter that began in 1997 but never got off the drawing-board。 And therein lies a fascinating tale。 It’s the subject of David W。 Brown’s extraordinary study of NASA and Big Science in action， The Mission。 And unlike Mars， the focus of the agency’s almost single-minded attention， Europa’s immense ocean may actually harbor living， breathing extraterrestrial life。In prose that at times calls to mind the stylistic pyrotechnics of Tom Wolfe in The Right Stuff， Brown follows the brilliant scientists， engineers， and managers at NASA， the Jet Propulsion Laboratory， the Applied Physics Laboratory， and other facilities that became involved over the two-decade period during which the Clipper mission to Europa came to fruition。 For anyone with even a modicum of interest in space travel or the ways and means of Big Science， or simply an engrossing story about interesting people， it’s likely to be endlessly fascinating。Our evolving view of the solar systemForget the poster or mobile of the solar system you were showed in school。 Remember？ There were nine balls of somewhat varying size circling a light bulb or a yellow sphere， and that was it。 But that doesn’t even scratch the surface of the reality as astronomers know it today。What’s really out thereThe eight planets—Pluto was demoted to the status of a dwarf planet in 2006—together possess hundreds of moons。 Yes， hundreds。 Seventy-nine of them circle Jupiter alone （and some believe there are really more than one hundred）。 It turns out that， unlike Earth， most planets have more than one moon。 And， of course， there are millions of asteroids， too， most of which also circle the sun in what is aptly called the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter。 There’s even another dwarf planet among the asteroids: Ceres。The relative sizesForget that light bulb。 The sun is inconceivably bigger than even Jupiter， the largest of the planets。 Our friend Sol contains 99。8% of all the matter in the solar system。 （About one million Earths could fit inside the sun。） And Jupiter holds most of the rest。 It’s two-and-a-half times the mass of all the other seven planets put together。 So， when you encounter someone likening the Earth to a tiny speck of sand in the vastness of the universe， believe it。The distancesAstronomers measure distances within the solar system in Astronomical Units （AU）。 One AU is equal to the average distance of the Earth from the sun， or about 93 million miles。 Of course， Venus and Mercury are much closer to the sun， and Mars is just a little bit more distant。 But all the rest of all the stuff that circles our star is much， much farther out。 Jupiter， the fifth planet out， orbits the sun at an average distance of 5。2 AU， or 484 million miles。 The other three gas giants that comprise the outer planets lie far further out: Saturn （9。5 AU， or 887 million miles）， Uranus （19。2 AU， or 1。8 billion miles）， Neptune （30 AU， or 2。8 billion miles）。But there’s even moreFar， far beyond the orbit of Neptune stretch two inconceivably broad belts of other stuff。 First， between 30 and 50 AU， or roughly 2。8 and 4。7 billion miles from us， lies the Kuiper Belt。 Then， much further out—between 2，000 and as many as 100，000 AU， or 186 billion and 9。3 trillion miles out—lies the Oort cloud， which may extend one-quarter of the way toward Alpha Centauri， the star that’s nearest the sun。 That’s 4。2 light-years away。 And a light-year is 63，241 times an AU。 Compared to these faraway places， the mission to Europa will be a walk in the park。A word about travel timesGiven today’s state-of-the-art technology， a trip to the moon takes about three days。 To Mars， it’s a matter of around seven months。 Now get this: “It took seven years for Cassini to reach Saturn。 Seven！ Galileo took six years to reach Jupiter。 Voyager 2 took twelve to turn up at Neptune。” So， when planetary scientists talk casually about a mission to Europa， they’re thinking about a journey that will take at least two-and-a-half years if approached directly。 But the Europa Clipper， as presently planned， will not go there in a straight line。 Instead， it will employ gravity assist， first around Mars， then around Earth。 The full journey to cover 390 million miles—at an average speed of 8，100 miles per hour！—will take five-and-a-half years。Five central charactersAlthough Brown’s cast of characters is three pages long， and historical figures including Wernher von Braun and Carl Sagan enter into the tale in significant ways， five less-well-known people play especially prominent roles in the story。 All five have been engaged year after year in realizing the dream of planetary scientists for a mission to Europa。Bob PappalardoRobert Pappalardo‘s story begins in Brown’s first chapter。 He started work as Europa Mission Project Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena， California in 2006。 His work with NASA began from 1995 to 2001 as a researcher at Brown University， when he worked to plan many of the Galileo observations of Jupiter’s icy Galilean satellites。 From 2001-2006， he was an Assistant Professor of Planetary Sciences in the Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences Department of the University of Colorado at Boulder。 As Brown notes， “By the time Bob took the job in Boulder， if he wasn’t yet the world’s foremost expert on Jupiter’s icy moons， and Europa and Ganymede in particular， even the world’s most foremost expert might think he was。” Pappalardo’s research focuses on processes that have shaped the icy satellites of the outer solar system， especially Europa and the role of its probable subsurface ocean。 He holds a PhD in Geology from Arizona State University。 If there is a single protagonist in this tale of the upcoming mission to Europa， that may be Bob Pappalardo。Louise ProckterLike Bob Pappalardo， Louise Prockter surfaces in this tale in the very first chapter as a graduate student。 She is a geomorphologist， a scientist who studies the origin and evolution of topographical features both on land and below the sea。 Geomorphologists seek to understand why landscapes look the way they do。 Given the peculiar features of the surface on Europa， Prockter’s inquiries merit high priority。 She is the former supervisor of the Planetary Exploration Group at the Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory。 It was Prockter’s discovery of plate tectonics on Europa that helped ensure the approval of Europa Clipper。 She received a Ph。D。 in planetary geology from Brown University in 1999。 Prockter now serves as Director of the Lunar and Planetary Institute （LPI） in Houston， Texas。Don BlankenshipDon Blankenship‘s current research is focused on understanding the West Antarctic rift system。 He uses both airborne and ground-based geophysical techniques， including laser altimetry and radar sounding， among other techniques， to investigate the dynamics of large ice sheets and subglacial geology。 Blankenship’s expertise in radar sounding and ice sheets—he is one of the world’s leading scholars in that field—proved instrumental in conceiving the various plans to explore Jupiter’s icy moons that culminated in the mission to Europa now called the Europa Clipper。 After all， the almost certain presence of a deep ocean far beneath Europa’s frozen surface is the principal reason for planetary scientists’ desire to study the moon。 He had been involved in the work at NASA since 1998。 He is currently a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Texas at Austin’s Institute for Geophysics。Curt NieburCurt Niebur was “a green， almost entirely anonymous functionary at NASA headquarters” when he was asked to serve as Program Scientist of a precursor to the Europa Clipper mission， called JIMO—short for Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter。 His LinkedIn bio reveals， “As a Program Scientist I work on robotic space science missions at all stages from formulation through operations。” What doesn’t emerge on LinkedIn is that Niebur has been instrumental in driving the Europa Clipper mission from plan to reality。 Niebur’s role in the evolution of the mission to Europa was to poke and prod at the planetary scientists at Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Applied Physics Laboratory。 He “had made it clear that 。 。 。 Europa had better bring its A game because no nod was assured” even though the Europa mission had already been selected as NASA’s number two priority！Ed WeilerEd Weiler was the guy at NASA headquarters who kept pulling the rug out from under the planetary scientists plugging for a mission to Europa 。 。 。 until he didn’t。 （“There was this guy running the science division， Ed Weiler， and it seemed like it was the man’s life work to kill the probe。”） Until his retirement in 2011—Weiler had worked at NASA since 1978—he was the Associate Administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate。 He holds a PhD in astrophysics from Northwestern University， which he received in 1976。If you read histories involving the CIA， the State Department， or many other Washington-based federal departments and agencies， you’ll stumble across multitudes of officials with degrees， often advanced degrees， from the nation’s elite schools。 Harvard， Yale， Stanford， UC Berkeley， Princeton， Columbia—they crop up again and again。 Not so with NASA。 It’s remarkable how few of the scientists and engineers profiled in The Mission hold degrees from the country’s top schools in engineering and science （MIT， Stanford， UC Berkeley， Harvard）。The dramaNASA’s consistent focus on MarsEver since Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon， NASA’s top priority has always been to aim for a human mission to Mars。 For decades， the red planet has gobbled up the lion’s share of the talent， funding， and attention whenever NASA， Congress， and the public have focused on space exploration。 To date， there have been 49 missions to Mars， including efforts by the Soviet Union and later Russia， the European Space Agency， India， China， and the United Arab Emirates。 But as I write only NASA has managed to land a spacecraft—always robotic—on the planet’s surface。 In its fourteen attempts， it has succeeded eight times。 The cost of all these missions runs to many billions in an era when funding for space has been increasingly difficult to secure。 （NASA accounted for 0。48 percent of the federal budget for 2020。） Small wonder， then， that advocates of missions to the outer planets have run into roadblocks。And therein lies the drama in David Brown’s tale of extraordinary dedication and persistence。A long， tortuous planning process“For any planetary body，” Brown explains， “the order of missions went: flyby， orbiter， lander， rover， sample return， astronaut。 That’s how Apollo did it。” To date， Europa has been explored exclusively by flyby missions of Galileo。 There was a long， long way to go until NASA would even contemplate anything more adventurous。 But that didn’t stop the planetary science community from trying。 “In seventeen years， there had been eighty-five people， cumulatively， on six science definition teams: Europa Orbiter through 1999， JIMO through 2004， Europa Jupiter System Mission through 2010， the Europa Habitability Mission through 2012， and Europa Clipper through 2014。”One frustration after anotherJust in case it isn’t clear， none of these missions even got off the drawing board until Europa Clipper finally secured a green light from NASA。 Years of work by talented scientists and engineers and thousands， even millions of dollars went into planning each of these missions。 Then something—usually budgetary limitations， sometimes just Ed Weiler changing the rules of the game—got in the way， and the planning process was halted。 It was lot like having Lucy snatch the football away from Charlie Brown at the last minute。In the end“In the end，” Brown writes， “it would take seventeen years， six major studies， multiple missions approved， multiple missions abandoned， friendships formed and enmities established， funding raised and budgets lost， congressional hearings， unlikely alliances， technological breakthroughs， terrible losses， and stunning discoveries to get NASA to make it official。” It now appears certain that， sometime within the next two or three years， the Clipper mission to Europa will actually lift off from Earth。About the authorDavid W。 Brown is a New Orleans-based author whose work generally concerns the space program。 He devoted seven years of intensive research and interviews to compile this engaging story of the forthcoming mission to Europa。 Brown contributes regularly to The Atlantic， The New York Times， and Scientific American。 He is a former U。S。 Army paratrooper and a veteran of Afghanistan。 。。。more
Ben Long
，
I learned a lot of fascinating things from this book， and I’m glad I read it。 That said， I found it disappointing。 The gold standard for this type of book is Chasing New Horizons， and this is far from that。 While the overall story of the culture at NASA， and in the space program at large， is interesting， the author goes into too much detail。 There are too many players， spread through the whole book， and keeping track of who is who is enough of a chore that I didn’t bother to try as the book wore I learned a lot of fascinating things from this book， and I’m glad I read it。 That said， I found it disappointing。 The gold standard for this type of book is Chasing New Horizons， and this is far from that。 While the overall story of the culture at NASA， and in the space program at large， is interesting， the author goes into too much detail。 There are too many players， spread through the whole book， and keeping track of who is who is enough of a chore that I didn’t bother to try as the book wore on。 He also has a tendency to go into too much detail。 Half a page describing the conference room at a Marriott？This over-detailed tendency stems from his desire to create a fast-moving， seemingly-written-from-the-hip-with-the-same-level-of-daring-as-his-subjects， Tom Wolf-style presentation。 I think he could actually pull that off with different subject matter， but this particular topic doesn’t need that kind of presentation。 It’s amazing enough on its own， and no one’s life is on the line， so the “daring“ component isn’t really there， which makes his chosen style seem more silly than daring。Still， there are some interesting things that I have not heard in other places。 He does a good job of revealing the space program’s strange bias toward Mars， rather than the outer planets， where we stand a much better chance of finding life。 And， as with all stories about these missions， the ridiculously steep uphill slog of making a project like this happen is amazing to behold。 。。。more
Melanie
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A breakneck ride through the world of NASA funding and interplanetary mission rivalries that's begging to be adapted into a Sorkin HBO drama series。 All of this revolves around the battle to get funding and the green light for the Europa Clipper mission， which will be able to reveal the marine world hiding beneath Europa's icy service。 This makes mundane phone conversations between NASA project scientists and the Decadal Survey feel full of drama as scientists and researchers spend their entire A breakneck ride through the world of NASA funding and interplanetary mission rivalries that's begging to be adapted into a Sorkin HBO drama series。 All of this revolves around the battle to get funding and the green light for the Europa Clipper mission， which will be able to reveal the marine world hiding beneath Europa's icy service。 This makes mundane phone conversations between NASA project scientists and the Decadal Survey feel full of drama as scientists and researchers spend their entire life working on projects and developing missions that may never launch in their lifetimes。 It's about perseverance and an insatiable， intergenerational curiosity that drives space programs year after year。 。。。more
Sencer Berrak
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I am a huge non-fiction fan and never heard of the term "creative non-fiction" before。 This book is probably the pinnacle of this genre。 I could not stop smiling while listening to this book。 It is the perfect combination of mind blowing facts， suspense and literary flair。 I immediately purchased David Brown's debut "Red Planet Noir" and looking forward to go to Mars with him after this long trip to Europa。 This book also had this rare impact of filling me with nail biting wonder to see the crea I am a huge non-fiction fan and never heard of the term "creative non-fiction" before。 This book is probably the pinnacle of this genre。 I could not stop smiling while listening to this book。 It is the perfect combination of mind blowing facts， suspense and literary flair。 I immediately purchased David Brown's debut "Red Planet Noir" and looking forward to go to Mars with him after this long trip to Europa。 This book also had this rare impact of filling me with nail biting wonder to see the creatures swimming in the Europa ocean and yet realizing I probably don't have enough time to see a lander who would drill into it。 。。。more
Craig
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I picked this book because the idea of a Europa mission and what it could learn excited me。 I was a little disappointed though in Brown's emphasis on the politics and money in the space program。 I'd rather have learned more about the science and mechanics of the mission - and space exploration in general。 Mr。 Brown's writing style was a little annoying at times， lapsing into glib and downright giddy at times。 I found it distracting from the narrative。 Still， the book reinvigorated my interest in I picked this book because the idea of a Europa mission and what it could learn excited me。 I was a little disappointed though in Brown's emphasis on the politics and money in the space program。 I'd rather have learned more about the science and mechanics of the mission - and space exploration in general。 Mr。 Brown's writing style was a little annoying at times， lapsing into glib and downright giddy at times。 I found it distracting from the narrative。 Still， the book reinvigorated my interest in the space program at a time when Perseverance is keeping Mars in the public eye。 。。。more
Jack Hicks
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The Mission， David W。 Brown， 2021We all just witnessed the landing of Perseverance Rover on the plain of a Marian crater。 We were awed by the impeccable cutting-edge engineering， the sheer audacity of the whole endeavor。 We saw the cheering engineers and scientists at the mission control room at JPL。 But what is JPL？ Who are the engineers and scientists behind this amazing technological achievement？ How does a project like this get funded in the yearly， byzantine， and contentious congressional p The Mission， David W。 Brown， 2021We all just witnessed the landing of Perseverance Rover on the plain of a Marian crater。 We were awed by the impeccable cutting-edge engineering， the sheer audacity of the whole endeavor。 We saw the cheering engineers and scientists at the mission control room at JPL。 But what is JPL？ Who are the engineers and scientists behind this amazing technological achievement？ How does a project like this get funded in the yearly， byzantine， and contentious congressional process？JPL is an almost collegiate campus like institution harbored in the hills of Pasadena， California。 It is associated with and managed by Caltech University but all its funding and its raision-d’etre is as the functional scientific mission branch of NASA。 It has a storied history of hundreds of scientific tours de forces such as the Voyager spacecraft， one of which still functions on the outer reaches of the solar system almost 50 years after its launch， the Galileo probe to Jupiter， the Cassini probe to Saturn， the Kepler and Hubble space telescopes， Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on Mars and this is just to name a few of the labs scientific triumphs。But this book is not about any of the missions you have heard about so far。 This is the story of a dedicated， brilliant team of planetary scientists and spacecraft engineers that have spent most of their careers， decades promoting a mission to the Jovian moon Europa。 Why Europa？ James Green， the head of planetary science at NASA explains: “What are we talking about when we talk about life on another world？ –the habitability triad: water， energy， and chemistry， -- and how only with all three you get life as We Know It， and， by the way: Europa has all three”。 Previous probes such as Galileo and recent information from the Hubble space telescope have confirmed that Europa has water， lots of it， in fact more than planet earth: an ice layer about 12 miles thick， below which is a warm ocean approximately 50 miles deep。 Below that is a rocky core。 At Europa’s south pole hydrothermal vents similar to Yellowstone’s Old faithful spout water vapor hundreds of miles into space。 The moons surface apparently has ice plate tectonics similar to Earth where water from below is extruded onto the surface and pushes huge ice sheets。 Scientists in pursuit of extra-terrestrial life have been intrigued by this alien world for decades and some of them at JPL have had an obsessive compulsion to bring about a mission to Europa for decades。As you might guess politics plays as an important part in this story as the actual science itself。 Within JPL each particular mission has its own separate scientific and engineering staff。 Each staff competes for the limited budget Congress and NASA allocates to planetary exploration。 In this particular story the Europa team promotes its mission over and over for decades only to be eclipsed by other sexier， more WOW， more photogenic missions such as the Mar’s rovers。 Yet they are undeterred and keep coming back again and again to promote their cause， their obsession。 Actually， getting your project approved by top administrators at NASA is not the end of the struggle because each year the NASA budget is debated and voted on by Congress。 Here’s how Brown describes the process: “It is one thing to send something hundreds of millions of miles to distant worlds of frost and fire。 If you wanted a real challenge， try sending a proposal ---to the higher floors at NASA headquarters and higher links on the NASA chain。 Then try and get it a mile and a half down the road to the White House Office of Management and Budget， and from there， another mile to Capital Hill as part of the annual budget request， and then back and forth from House and Senate， 300 feet at a go – I’m just a bill… - and then a final mile to the oval office for the President’s signature”。 The book tells an amazing story of perseverance， in 2015， 17 years after the first scientific proposal， after thousands of pages of rejected proposals， the project was finally approved and given the go-ahead with a 2。5-Billion-dollar budget。 That this happened at all can be partially attributed to an obscure Texas Congressman， Jon Culberson， head of House Ways and Means who was a fellow space junky fully committed to making the mission to Europa a reality。 As of now The Europa Clipper is set to launch in 2024 and arrive at Europa in 2030。 If you are still around then watch for this！I am also a space junky。 One of my first jobs out of engineering school was at the Cape as a Mechanical Systems Engineer on the Titan 3C launch team。 One thing that was cemented in my consciousness from my time there was the absolutely unforgiving nature of the space launch business。 I can attest from personal experience that even the most mundane， inane and seemingly insignificant mistake can lead to an explosive catastrophe that has a cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars。 Because of this rather jarring experience in my past， I am totally impressed and blown away with the audacious， meticulous， unforgiving nature of the engineering and quality control that was involved in sending a space craft to a destination 130 million miles away and perfectly sticking a landing on an alien planet as we have just witnessed。 Kudos to all the dedicated and skilled people at JPL that made this amazing landing happen。 What would happen if we found life on Europa？ How would that change our perception as human beings？ The author makes a rather interesting metaphor at the books end: “A house cat might go her entire life believing she is the only house cat in the world。 She has her caretakers – her metaphorical gods – and if she is kind， shows love and devotion， there will be food and water and comfort when there is hunger， injury， or illness。 The metaphysics of Felis Catus allow it to stretch on the back of a sofa and lie on a stack of papers because it is at the center of the universe。 What more peaceful place could there be？ ---Humankind has had a good run as the only housecat in the world。 But once we learn of others， how would things change？If you are a space junky read this book， if you are curious about the inner working and the amazing men and woman of JPL read this book。 JACK 。。。more
Peter Pereira
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There were two ways this author could have authored this book。 He could have gone with a dry science approach， sticking to the facts in chronological order， or he could create a thoroughly compelling adventure， documenting NASA's long history in outer planet exploration。 I never thought I would ever laugh out loud while reading a book documenting the long， arduous， tedious， insanely complicated， and prohibitively expensive attempt at getting a mission to Europa approved。 I was wrong。 This book h There were two ways this author could have authored this book。 He could have gone with a dry science approach， sticking to the facts in chronological order， or he could create a thoroughly compelling adventure， documenting NASA's long history in outer planet exploration。 I never thought I would ever laugh out loud while reading a book documenting the long， arduous， tedious， insanely complicated， and prohibitively expensive attempt at getting a mission to Europa approved。 I was wrong。 This book has moments of complete brilliance on the author's part， in his ability interweave a motley cast of characters with the complexity of the problem at hand。 Regardless of your knowledge on the inner workings of NASA， you will learn something reading this thing。 To be honest， I never really thought out the complexity involved in creating/executing a mission into the outer planets。 This book wrapped the enormity of the challenge into an approachable volume， waiting to be devoured。 。。。more
Terry Earley
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eBook recommended to library/ overdrive 2-18-2012
Reggie Martell
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This book is infused with the DNA of Truman Capote。 If In Cold Blood was a non-fiction， true crime novel， The Mission is a true science （as apposed to Sci-Fi） non-fiction novel。 It is very much character-driven， and filled with the kinds of linguistic flourishes generally reserved for fiction。
Dan Rowinski
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Quite fantastic。 The level of access to tell this story， especially in the way it's told （with the personal histories of all the major players） is stunning。 The prose is conversational and fun， though not distractingly so。 It's a book about the Europa Clipper mission， yes。 But what I didn't expect was the deep history--official and anecdotal--of planetary science at NASA over the last 5o years or so。 But， it's necessary to understand how we got from Apollo to Galileo to Cassini and then Clipper。 Quite fantastic。 The level of access to tell this story， especially in the way it's told （with the personal histories of all the major players） is stunning。 The prose is conversational and fun， though not distractingly so。 It's a book about the Europa Clipper mission， yes。 But what I didn't expect was the deep history--official and anecdotal--of planetary science at NASA over the last 5o years or so。 But， it's necessary to understand how we got from Apollo to Galileo to Cassini and then Clipper。 。。。more
Rita Kobb
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I recommend The Mission for anyone intetested in space travel， science， engineering， NASA， or how government funding sometimes works （and sometimes doesn't）。This book delivered frustrating and sometimes humorous insights into the spastic colon that is the government funding and management of NASA。 I was riveted by the juxtaposition of this management with the herculean and magical accomplishments of the often heroic scientists and other team members at NASA and its contractors。I found the subjec I recommend The Mission for anyone intetested in space travel， science， engineering， NASA， or how government funding sometimes works （and sometimes doesn't）。This book delivered frustrating and sometimes humorous insights into the spastic colon that is the government funding and management of NASA。 I was riveted by the juxtaposition of this management with the herculean and magical accomplishments of the often heroic scientists and other team members at NASA and its contractors。I found the subject matter thrilling because I've been dreaming of chemosynthetic microorganisms and space shrimp。I highly recommend this book for anyone intetested in space travel， science， engineering， NASA， or how government funding sometimes works （and sometimes doesn't）。 。。。more
Ben
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An exciting story about NASA bureaucrats giving Powerpoint presentations to boost their budgets。 Actually， I wouldn't mind hearing that funding story。 Brown avoids most of it。 There is no gossip here， no inside dirt。 Everybody is a genius （in Brown's effusive prose， any college graduate is basically a PhD， with the brain of Einstein）， and even utter boondoggles like the SLS are somehow worthy of support。 Rivalries hardly exist。 A racist， anti-science Republican representative is a dedicated Amer An exciting story about NASA bureaucrats giving Powerpoint presentations to boost their budgets。 Actually， I wouldn't mind hearing that funding story。 Brown avoids most of it。 There is no gossip here， no inside dirt。 Everybody is a genius （in Brown's effusive prose， any college graduate is basically a PhD， with the brain of Einstein）， and even utter boondoggles like the SLS are somehow worthy of support。 Rivalries hardly exist。 A racist， anti-science Republican representative is a dedicated American hero。 （Brown avoids almost all space science。） For a good story about NASA funding， rivalries， and more， I'd recommend Alan Stern and David Grinspoon's "Chasing New Horizons。" 。。。more
Sid Sidner
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Even with robots， it's people who explore spaceIf you loved the books about Curiosity， you're gonna love this。 As a retired computer software and systems engineer， I can tell you that it's not just technology and innovative ideas， it's individuals and organizations。 If you want to build Big Stuff， it takes a team。 And if you want to build Really Big Stuff， it takes a large well managed， well financed organization。 And that's what this book is about: the Mission。 Oh and I came away even more conv Even with robots， it's people who explore spaceIf you loved the books about Curiosity， you're gonna love this。 As a retired computer software and systems engineer， I can tell you that it's not just technology and innovative ideas， it's individuals and organizations。 If you want to build Big Stuff， it takes a team。 And if you want to build Really Big Stuff， it takes a large well managed， well financed organization。 And that's what this book is about: the Mission。 Oh and I came away even more convinced than I was， that there is probably life， "fish"， in the ocean of Europa。 I'd be surprised if there isn't。 。。。more
Kristine Gallagher
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This is a highly accessible and compelling narrative history of the long journey that will culminate in the Europa Clipper mission， launching in the mid 2020s。 This Jovian moon offers the best known chance that we Earthlings have of finding life in our own solar system。 Europa almost certainly has a salt sea under its surface ice crust， and almost certainly has the essential ingredients for life to evolve。Brown takes the reader on a deep dive through the adoption and on-going development of the This is a highly accessible and compelling narrative history of the long journey that will culminate in the Europa Clipper mission， launching in the mid 2020s。 This Jovian moon offers the best known chance that we Earthlings have of finding life in our own solar system。 Europa almost certainly has a salt sea under its surface ice crust， and almost certainly has the essential ingredients for life to evolve。Brown takes the reader on a deep dive through the adoption and on-going development of the mission。 The interplay of the elements: the science， the institutions， the incredible people， the FUNDING， FUNDING， FUNDING， and， of course， the existential awe inspiring， frightening， and dangerous phenomenon of outer space itself， all are interwoven into a narrative that flows like a novel。Many of the people involved in the space program are truly unforgettable， and Brown's prose elicits the respect and sometimes reverence these dedicated and dogged scientists deserve。 One element I found particularly interesting， and also amusing at times， was the love affair with Mars of some players and the public， which frustrated the Europa supporters， who believe the icy moon more rewarding to explore。The writing is lovely and clear， and one doesn't have to bring any particular knowledge of the space program to the book to enjoy it as an exciting and uplifting story。The contrast between the meticulous detailed work and the awe and wonder of the actual goal， Europa， will leave a lasting impression。Highly recommended popular science。 。。。more
Valerie Fazio
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