posted 11-11-2013 09:53 AM               

With images never published before, and computer-enhanced with colors that make you want to spend your next vacation on Mars, this is the only book that explains everything, detail by detail and moment by moment, about the most ambitious space expedition the human race has ever undertaken.

National Geographic and science journalist Marc Kaufman combine inside stories, fascinating facts, and eye-popping pictures, some never before seen, of the red planet and NASA's groundbreaking Curiosity mission.

Renowned author Kaufman spent two years embedded with the engineers and scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, cheering on the rover's spine-tingling landing, learning the backstory of anticipated findings, and witnessing the inescapable frustrations that come from operating a $2.5-billion multitasking robot on a planet 35 million miles from Earth.

For pop science, space, and technology lovers, Mars Up Close takes you inside the Curiosity Mission, showcasing the people, science, and stories central to this unprecedented exploration of the Red Planet.

• Hardcover: 304 pages
  
• Publisher: National Geographic (August 5, 2014)
  
• ISBN-10: 142621278X
  
• ISBN-13: 978-1426212789

posted 06-19-2014 08:21 AM               

Tuesday, August 5, marks the second anniversary of the landing of NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars.

National Geographic will commemorate this milestone with the release of Marc Kaufman's MARS UP CLOSE: Inside the Curiosity Mission (National Geographic Books). This in-depth narrative of the rover's mission, informed by Kaufman's two years spent embedded at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is filled with original illustrations and stunning images of Mars, many of which have never been seen before. It will be available everywhere books are sold.

Also on Aug. 5, Nat Geo Live and NASA will present a "Summer in Space" event, "Mars Up Close."

This panel discussion, at 7:30 p.m., will be introduced by Dr. Jim Green, NASA's Planetary Science Division director and head of the Mars program, and moderated by Kaufman. The panel will comprise:

• Dr. Ken Edgett, principal investigator, MAHLI Camera, Mars Exploration Program;
  
• Dr. John Grant, geologist and long-term planner, Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory; and,
  
• Dr. Pan Conrad, deputy principal investigator, sample analysis, at Mars team, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

This event also will be live-streamed at NatGeoSpace.com.

The panel discussion will be followed by a book signing of MARS UP CLOSE in the National Geographic Museum's "Mars Up Close" exhibition. The exhibition, which will feature stunning Mars imagery, content from the book, a full-scale model of the Curiosity rover as well as models of the Spirit/Opportunity rover and the 1997 Sojourner, opens to the public Aug. 6, but National Geographic Live attendees will get a first look at this free exhibit on display in the M Street lobby.

posted 09-27-2015 10:25 PM               

American Astronautical Society (AAS) Announces Emme Award Recipient

Marc Kaufman has been selected as the recipient of the 2014 Eugene M. Emme Astronautical Literature Award for Mars Up Close: Inside the Curiosity Mission (National Geographic).

Mars Up Close: Inside the Curiosity Mission examines one of NASA’s most successful interplanetary endeavors. Sponsored by the National Geographic Society and written by a highly regarded science correspondent, the book gives the reader a riveting account of the planning and execution of one of the most dazzling unmanned technological triumphs of the Space Age.

Benefiting greatly from the access that Kaufman was provided by JPL, the book provides a wealth of information about missions to Mars in general and the Curiosity effort in particular. Paragraph-length vignettes allow the reader to learn the stories of scientists and technicians who helped to bring the mission to fruition. And, as befits a work produced under the auspices of the National Geographic Society, the book includes a wealth of visually arresting photographs of the Red Planet. Written in an engaging fashion, Mars Up Close reminds the reader that ingenuity and perseverance can allow the astronautical community to overcome formidable obstacles in their quest to gain a better understanding of the solar system that we all reside in.

The American Astronautical Society, established in 1954, is the premier network of current and future space professionals dedicated to advancing all space activities.