Highlights and lowlights in our ventures into the final frontier, presented in one- to three-page cartoon segments.
Though representing in general a forward march of progress, many of Mason’s chosen exploits end badly—beginning with early examples in which two ancient Chinese astronomers were, according to legend, put to death for failing to predict an eclipse, and Galileo was “grounded…forever” by the Catholic Church. Abbreviated accounts of space dog Laika’s “one-way mission,” space station Mir’s fire and subsequent fall to Earth, the ill-fated Apollo 13, and Chinese Moon rover Yutu 1’s mechanical breakdown in 2013 alternate with glimpses of floating “mystery poops” that appeared in Apollo 10’s cabin and more positive nods to other animals that survived their trips into orbit, Valentina Tereshkova (the first female cosmonaut), the first moon landing, and the ongoing missions of both current space stations, the ISS and China’s Tiangong. References to India’s 2023 Aditya-L1 solar probe and NASA’s Artemis project bring the epic tale more or less up to date; the work closes with a quiz. Though this may not be a systematic picture of space exploration, all the funny business does add color, along with a multinational point of view and a racially diverse cast of scientists and other achievers.
A breezy overview of humankind’s forays into space.
—Kirkus Reviews
