Mars Rover Curiosity: An Inside Account from Curiosity's Chief Engineer: Includes a Bonus PDF Disc: Library Edition

[Includes Bonus PDF with Photos] [Read by Bronson Pinchot] An account of how the Mars rover Curiosity came to be, this is a story of persistence, dedication, and unrelenting curiosity. In the course of our enduring quest for knowledge about ourselves and our universe, we haven't found answers to one of our most fundamental questions: Does life exist anywhere else in the universe? Ten years and billions of dollars in the making, the Mars rover Curiosity is poised to answer this all-important question. Here, Rob Manning, the project's chief engineer, tells of bringing the groundbreaking spacecraft to life. Manning and his team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, tasked with designing a lander many times larger and more complex than any before, faced technical setbacks, fights over inadequate resources, and the challenges of leading an army of brilliant, passionate, and often frustrated experts.