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

Mary Roach is an American nonfiction writer of seven New York Times bestselling books known for her candid and humorous style of science writing. Her works cover unconventional and taboo topics such as Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (2003), Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex (2008), and Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal (2013).

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void (2010) is her fourth book and was adapted for younger readers in Packing for Mars for Kids (2022). Roach has also written for National Geographic, Salon, Wired, The New York Times Magazine, and the Journal of Clinical Anatomy. Her books have been translated into 21 languages, and she presented a TED talk in 2009 entitled “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Orgasm.”

Roach does not have a background in science, so she interviews multiple scientists and other experts to inform her writing about the human body for a general audience. Her specialty is in revealing obscure facts and curiosities about human anatomy and physiology. She often visits unique research facilities and prestigious institutions around the world to investigate, observe, and participate in scientific studies.