“(The Soviet space agency did not traditionally give cosmonauts steak and eggs before launch; it gave them a one-liter enema.) Fahey,” — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
To me, NASA is kind of the magical kingdom. I was sort of a geek, and you go there, and there are… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
There are people who would love to spend their last ten years, or five years, or whatever it is, on the surface… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Space doesn't just encompass the sublime and the ridiculous. It erases the line between. — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Astronauts are like these mythic legends, but really, they are just regular people, people who wear chinos. — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
A space station is a rangy monstrosity, a giant erector set built by a madman. — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“Funny thing happened on the way to the moon: not much,” wrote Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan. “Should have brought some crossword puzzles.” — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“As on Earth, weight-bearing exercise is the best way to hang on to your bone. In zero gravity, of course, you have… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“Stanford University suggests that a two-year mission to Mars would have about the same effect on one’s skeleton. Would an astronaut returning… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
The suffix 'naut' comes from the Greek and Latin words for ships and sailing. Astronaut suggests 'a sailor in space.' Chimponaut suggests… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
I've always been a bit of a space geek. I wrote an article years ago about the neutral buoyancy tank, which is… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“They have this idea that they can send astronauts up and the bone loss will level off in a few months, but… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“It began with meetings, five months before the Apollo 11 launch. The newly formed Committee on Symbolic Activities for the First Lunar… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
NASA might do well to adopt the Red Bull approach to branding and astronautics. Suddenly the man in the spacesuit is not… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
When someone tells me, 'Oh, we have so many problems on Earth; space exploration costs too much money,' I say, 'I absolutely… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“I remember watching Morin walk away from me, the endearing gait and the butt that got lubed for science, and thinking, “Oh… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“As when astronaut Mike Mulhane was asked by a NASA psychiatrist what epitaph he'd like to have on his gravestone, Mulhane answered,… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“Space Shuttle toilets have always been mounted on the floor, but you would not call them normal. The original shuttle toilet bowl… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Weightlessness was unbelievable. It's physical euphoria: Nothing about you has any weight. You don't realize that you are weighed down all the… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“I applied to be a subject in a simulated Mars mission. I made it past the first round of cuts and was… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“The Johnson Space Center “potty cam,” as it is more casually known, is an astronaut training aid. It provides a vivid, arresting… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“To the rocket scientist, you are a problem. You are the most irritating piece of machinery he or she will ever have… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
I would have sold my wife and children into slavery for a ride into space. — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Spacewalking is a little like rock climbing in that everything, including and especially oneself, must be tethered or docked at all times.… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“Mir astronaut Jerry Linenger writes in his memoir that he was surprised to find a bottle of cognac in one arm of… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
If you could really guarantee that the money would be spent on something more worthwhile, I'd say, absolutely, scrap the space program,… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“Rawson points out that although snakes can’t taste, they have a primitive sense of smell. They’ll extend their tongue to gather volatile molecules and… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“As the number of Inuit who hunt has dwindled, so has the consumption of organs (and other anatomy not available for purchase at the… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
For the most part, if somebody approaches me and says, 'I'd like to interview you,' who am I to say no, when I spend… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“If you look at survivable crashes, it’s rare that even half the emergency exits open,” says Shanahan. “Plus, there’s a lot of panic and… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“…he was doing a breath hydrogen test. If you know the amount of hydrogen someone is exhaling orally, it's a simple matter to extrapolate… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“Viagra isn't the only drug being prescribed off-label for women with arousal problems. Los Angeles urologist Jennifer Berman told me some doctors are prescribing… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Sharing a room with a cadaver is only mildly different from being in a room alone. They are the same sort of company as… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
Every now and then, someone will tell me that one of my books has made them laugh out loud. I never believe them because:… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“panel applicants at the initial screening were asked not only to describe the cat foods but also to rate them according to how much… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“* Kissing is a less aggressive form of bacterial transplant. Studies of three different gingivitis-causing bacteria have documented migration from spouse to spouse. Periodontically… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
“Nirlungayuk reached a similar conclusion. I tracked him down, seventeen years later, and asked him what the outcome of his country-foods campaign had been.… — Mary Roach Copy Share Image
