Quotes from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“Yes, the money could be better spent on Earth. But would it? Since when has money saved by government redlining been spent on education and cancer research? It is always squandered. Let's squander some on Mars. Let's go out and play.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“To the rocket scientist, you are a problem. You are the most irritating piece of machinery he or she will ever have to deal with. You and your fluctuating metabolism, your puny memory, your frame that comes in a million different configurations. You are unpredictable. You're inconstant. You take weeks to fix. The engineer must worry about the water and oxygen and food you'll need in space, about how much extra fuel it will take to launch your shrimp cocktail and irradiated beef tacos. A solar cell or a thruster nozzle is stable and undemanding. It does not excrete or panic or fall in love with the mission commander. It has no ego. Its structural elements don't start to break down without gravity, and it works just fine without sleep.

To me, you are the best thing to happen to rocket science. The human being is the machine that makes the whole endeavor so endlessly intriguing.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“The nobility of the human spirit grows harder for me to believe in. War, zealotry, greed, malls, narcissism. I see a backhanded nobility in excessive, impractical outlays of cash prompted by nothing loftier than a species joining hands and saying “I bet we can do this.” Yes, the money could be better spent on Earth. But would it? Since when has money saved by government red-lining been spent on education and cancer research? It is always squandered. Let’s squander some on Mars. Let’s go out and play.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“Every mode of travel has its signature mental aberration.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“Space doesn't just encompass the sublime and the ridiculous. It erases the line between.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“People can't anticipate how much they'll miss the natural world until they are deprived of it. I have read about submarine crewmen who haunt the sonar room, listening to whale songs and colonies of snapping shrimp. Submarine captains dispense 'periscope liberty'- a chance to gaze at clouds and birds and coastlines and remind themselves that the natural world still exists. I once met a man who told me that after landing in Christchurch, New Zealand, after a winter at the South Pole research station, he and his companions spent a couple days just wandering around staring in awe at flowers and trees. At one point, one of them spotted a woman pushing a stroller. 'A baby!' he shouted, and they all rushed across the street to see. The woman turned the stroller and ran.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“He has a minor in explosives and the slightly bitter, misanthropic personality of someone who shouldn't.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“The suffix 'naut' comes from the Greek and Latin words for ships and sailing. Astronaut suggests 'a sailor in space.' Chimponaut suggests 'a chimpanzee in sailor pants'.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“the act of vomiting deserves your respect. It's an orchestral event of the gut.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“As when astronaut Mike Mulhane was asked by a NASA psychiatrist what epitaph he'd like to have on his gravestone, Mulhane answered, "A loving husband and devoted father," though in reality, he jokes in "Riding Rockets," "I would have sold my wife and children into slavery for a ride into space.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“No one is excluded from the astronaut corps based on penis size.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“My interpreter Sayuri is folding a piece of notebook paper. She is at step 21, where the crane's body is inflated. The directions show a tiny puff besides an arrow pointing at the bird. It makes sense if you already know what to do. Otherwise, it's wonderfully surreal: Put a cloud inside a bird.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“Gravitation is the lust of the cosmos.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“Upon the occasion of history's first manned flight - in the 1780's aboard the Montgolfier brothers' hot-air balloons - someone asked Franklin what use he saw in such frivolity. "What use," he replied, "is a newborn baby?”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“NASA might do well to adopt the Red Bull approach to branding and astronautics. Suddenly the man in the spacesuit is not an underpaid civil servant; he's the ultimate extreme athlete. Red Bull knows how to make space hip.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“Gravity is why there are suns and planets in the first place. It is practically God.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“I will tell you sincerely and without exaggeration that the best part of lunch today at the NASA Ames cafeteria is the urine. It is clear and sweet, though not in the way mountain streams are said to be clear and sweet. More in the way of Karo syrup. The urine has been desalinated by osmotic pressure. Basically it swapped molecules with a concentrated sugar solution. Urine is a salty substance (though less so than the NASA Ames chili), and if you were to drink it in an effort to rehydrate yourself, it would have the opposite effect. But once the salt is taken care of and the distasteful organic molecules have been trapped in an activated charcoal filter, urine is a restorative and surprisingly drinkable lunchtime beverage. I was about to use the word unobjectionable, but that's not accurate. People object. They object a lot.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“Ability to Function Despite Imminent Catastrophe.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“Under the section heading “Experiments with Human Subjects” – a heading that, were I a doctor previously employed by Nazi Germany, I might have rephrased –”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“The V-2’s directional system was notoriously erratic. In May 1947, a V-2 launched from White Sands Proving Ground headed south instead of north, missing downtown Juarez, Mexico, by 3 miles. The Mexican government’s response to the American bombing was admirably laid back. General Enrique Diaz Gonzales and Consul General Raul Michel met with United States officials, who issued apologies and an invitation to come to “the next rocket shoot” at White Sands. The Mexican citizenry was similarly nonchalant. “Bomb Blast Fails to Halt Spring Fiesta,” said the El Paso Times headline, noting that “many thought the explosion was a cannon fired for the opening of the fiesta.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“Borman's dumping urine. Urine [in] approximately one minute." Two lines further along, we see Lovell saying, "What a sight to behold!”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“Gravity disappears again, and we rise up off the floor like spooks from a grave. It's like the Rapture in here every thirty seconds.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“No one goes out to play anymore. Simulation is becoming reality.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“(As brain cells die from oxygen starvation, euphoria sets in, and one last, grand erection.)”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“Hydromedusa tectifera are, like post-war Nazis, native to Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“What’s different? Sweat, risk, uncertainty, inconvenience. But also, awe. Pride. Something ineffably splendid and stirring.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“I remember watching Morin walk away from me, the endearing gait and the butt that got lubed for science, and thinking, 'Oh my god, they're just people.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“Given the complexity of the chore, “escapees,” as free-floating fecal material is known in astronautical circles, plagued the crews. Below is an excerpt from the Apollo 10 mission transcript, starring Mission Commander Thomas Stafford, Lunar Module Pilot Gene Cernan, and Command Module Pilot John Young, orbiting the moon 200,000-plus miles from the nearest bathroom. CERNAN:…You know once you get out of lunar orbit, you can do a lot of things. You can power down…And what’s happening is— STAFFORD: Oh—who did it? YOUNG: Who did what? CERNAN: What? STAFFORD: Who did it? [laughter] CERNAN: Where did that come from? STAFFORD: Give me a napkin quick. There’s a turd floating through the air. YOUNG: I didn’t do it. It ain’t one of mine. CERNAN: I don’t think it’s one of mine. STAFFORD: Mine was a little more sticky than that. Throw that away. YOUNG: God almighty. [And again eight minutes later, while discussing the timing of a waste-water dump.] YOUNG: Did they say we could do it anytime? CERNAN: They said on 135. They told us that—Here’s another goddam turd. What’s the matter with you guys? Here, give me a— YOUNG/STAFFORD: [laughter]… STAFFORD: It was just floating around? CERNAN: Yes. STAFFORD: [laughter] Mine was stickier than that. YOUNG: Mine was too. It hit that bag— CERNAN: [laughter] I don’t know whose that is. I can neither claim it nor disclaim it. [laughter] YOUNG: What the hell is going on here?”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“many space psychology experiments these days focus on ways to detect stress or depression in a person who doesn’t intend to tell you about it.”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

“to test. Would weightlessness put them off their game? It did. The turtles moved “slowly and insecurely” and did not attack a piece of bait placed directly in front of them. Then again, the water in which they swam was repeatedly floating up out of the jar and forming an “ovoid cupola.” Who could eat? Von Beckh quickly moved on from turtles to Argentinean pilots. Under the section heading “Experiments with Human Subjects”—a heading that, were I a doctor previously employed by Nazi Germany, I might have rephrased—von Beckh reports on the efforts of the pilots to mark X’s inside small boxes during regular and weightless flight. During weightlessness, many of the letters strayed from the boxes, indicating that pilots might experience difficulties maneuvering their planes and doing crossword puzzles during air battles. The following year, von Beckh was recruited by the Aeromedical Research Laboratory at Holloman Air Force”
― Mary Roach, quote from Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

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“Other folk thought the Rage was simple bloodlust, a berserk savagery that neither knew nor cared what its target was, and so it was when it struck without warning. But when a hradani gave himself to it knowingly, it was as cold as it was hot, as rational as it was lethal. To embrace the Rage was to embrace a splendor, a glory, a denial of all restraint but not of reason. It was pure, elemental purpose, unencumbered by compassion or horror or pity, yet it was far more than mere frenzy.”
― David Weber, quote from Oath of Swords

“What does he have planned?”

“He said it was a surprise, but apparently it includes all my favorites things about the city.”

“That’s cute. Maybe it’ll be the refresher you guys need. It’s hard being apart for so long, especially when there is a super-hot ex-boyfriend living next to you.”

I give her a pointed look.

“And speak of the devil. Look whose truck just pulled into the driveway.” Amanda puts her drink on the coffee table and crawls on top of me, her knees digging into my stomach as she tries to catch a view of Aaron.

“Will you please get off me?”

“I want to see what he looks like. I want to see these muscles you speak of.” Amanda reaches the window, but I yank on her body so she can’t sneak a peek. “Hey, stop that, I can’t see.”

“Exactly. He’ll catch you looking, and I don’t want him thinking it’s me.”

“Don’t be paranoid. He won’t think that. Now let me catch a glimpse.” Pushing down on my head, trying to climb over me, she reaches for the blinds, but I hold strong and grip her around the waist, using my legs to hold her down as well. “Stop it.” She swats at my head. “Just a little looksy.”

“No, he’ll see you.”

“He won’t.”

“He will.”

“He—”

Knock, knock.

We still, our heads snapping to the front door.

“Is someone at the door?” Amanda whispers, one of her hands holding on to my ponytail.

“That’s what a knock usually means,” I whisper back.

“Is it him?”

Oh hell.

“I have no idea.” I hold still, trying not to move in case the person on the other side of the door can hear us.

“Answer it,” Amanda scolds.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because if it’s Aaron, I don’t want you anywhere near him. You’ll embarrass me, I know it.”

Amanda scoffs. “Don’t be ridiculous.” She pushes off me, her hand palming my face for a brief second. “I’ll answer the door.” When she places one of her feet on the floor, I hold her in place.

“Oh no, you don’t. You’re not answering that door. Just be still, the person will go away.”

Knock, knock.

“You’re being rude,” Amanda says as she plows her elbow into my thigh, causing me to buckle over in pain. She frees herself from my grip and rushes to the door. Right before she opens it, she fluffs her hair. You’ve got to be kidding me.

I don’t even have to ask if it’s Aaron because that’s just my luck. Also, Amanda makes a low whistle sound when she opens the door.

“Amanda?” Aaron’s voice floats into my house.

“Aaron Walters, look . . . at . . . you.” I sit up just in time to see Amanda give him a very slow once-over. “You were right, Amelia, he has gotten sexier.”

What? Jesus!

I hop off the couch, limping ever so slightly from the dead leg Amanda gave me. “I didn’t say that.”

Amanda waves her hand. “It was in the realm of that. Come in, come in. We need to catch up.” Amanda wraps her hand around Aaron’s arm and pulls him into the house. When she passes me, she winks and squeezes his arm while mouthing, “He’s huge.”

I shut the door behind them and bang my head on it a few times before joining them in the living room. I knew Amanda’s visit was going to be interesting”
― Meghan Quinn, quote from The Other Brother

“You want to see a very bad man? Make an ordinary man successful beyond his imagination. Let’s see how good he is when he can do whatever he wants.”
― Min Jin Lee, quote from Pachinko

“Actually, it’s kind of a love story.”
― Ruth Emmie Lang, quote from Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance

“He wished . . . He didn’t know what he wished. That he hadn’t seen the intentions behind those honey-colored eyes of hers? That he hadn’t predicted her duplicity so easily? Or maybe, stupid as he was, he wished that he could stop himself from the inevitability of hurting her? But wishes were for children, and he’d grown up a long time ago. Only one of them could win this game, and it had to be him.”
― Lisa Maxwell, quote from The Last Magician

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