Enlarge NASA Look Ma, no gravity! Author Mary Roach experiences brief weightlessness on a parabolic flight while conducting research for her new book, Packing for Mars. ABOUT THE BOOK ABOUT THE BOOK Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

By Mary Roach

|W.W. Norton, 334 pp., $25.95 Spook, Bonk and Stiff. Mary Roach is a curious woman. She asks a lot of questions. What happens after we die? What's sex all about? What secrets do human cadavers hold? She has turned her curiosity into the best-selling booksand Now she's turned her inquisitive mind toward space, wondering what happens up there in those tiny capsules as they hurtle through the darkness. She shares what curious minds want to know about the Right Stuff in her newest investigative book, Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. "What drew me to the topic of space exploration was not the heroics and adventure stories," she writes, "but the very human and sometimes absurd struggles behind them." What happens at NASA stays at NASA has long been the government's mantra, but Roach cuts through the bureaucracy and asks the tough questions. Did you know, for instance, that you can vomit in your space helmet and not die? Good news, indeed. And then there's the sex in midair, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. Roach does not spare the reader anything. There are chapters on both body odor ("Houston, We Have a Fungus: Space Hygiene and the Men Who Stopped Bathing for Science") and bodily functions in space ("Separation Anxiety: The Continuing Saga of Zero-Gravity Elimination"). No surprise, these are the most fascinating chapters. Her glossary is even filled with a variety of names for feces as it floats around the space capsule. Escapees, is one. In the line of research, Roach also drank treated urine, calling it "a restorative and remarkably drinkable lunchtime beverage." (It's an astronaut staple.) Being an astronaut is not all glamour, as we quickly learn, but the best thing about this book is that Roach willingly shares her newfound knowledge with her trademark sense of humor. You will laugh more often than an astronaut passes gas, and that's often. As for the benefits of anti-gravity sex, if indeed it's ever been done? Read Roach's book and find out, but we'll give you a hint: Gravity is your friend in the bedroom. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more