“To Mars With Love offers a wonderful, behind-the-scenes, unique, well-written account of the Viking program, and of the men and women who dared to be bold and meld scientific inquiry and technology to look for life on Mars. Dr. Straat’s personal account is one of pioneering persistence and underscores her unquestionable dedication to excellence.  This book is a treasure, a fascinating read from an investigator on the frontlines of discovery.”

~ Leonard David, Space Insider Columnist, Space.com

“I just finished reading your book and thoroughly enjoyed it. Handling fluids on Mars is not an easy task as I have learned first-hand with the SAM wet chemistry experiment on Curiosity. Even though I have read many of the scientific publications from the analysis of Viking data, your book really helped me understand the context of the measurements and the tremendous amount of work that went in to making a successful set of experiments. I remain optimistic that we will eventually find unambiguous evidence of life on Mars, but it will require many missions and measurement strategies. You are a true pioneer in the search for life on Mars. Thank you for sharing your story!”

Danny Glavin

Astrobiologist

“A well-written tale whose insights make a good read into what led to a successful experiment on the Martian surface – a superior instruction  on what’s behind making planetary exobiology exploration a reality.”

~ Fred S. Brown, Viking Biology Project Scientist, TRW and (later) Vice-President, Space & Electronics, TRW.

“To Mars with Love is a must read for anyone interested in the search for bacterial life beyond Earth. A female pioneer in space exploration, Dr. Straat offers a fascinating look into the earliest days of Mars exploration.”

~ Sherry L. Cady, Editor-in-Chief, Astrobiology magazine; Chief Scientist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

“Following a laudatory review in Astrobiology, I just finished reading To Mars With Love, a very interesting book by Patricia Ann Straat, one of the lead scientists of the Viking landers’ biology package. Never before have I seen the Labeled Release (LR) experiment results so clearly explained and discussed. The reader is walked through the train of thought and challenges that were faced during the development of LR, and then coming to grips with the results. The book is also interesting from a human perspective, as the author includes several anecdotes of her experience developing a space instrument in 1970s California. 

For those curious about any of the following: (1) search for life, (2) surface chemistry, and/or (3) Mars exploration history, I highly recommend that you read this book.”

Jorge L. Vago

ExoMars Project Scientist

Directorate of Science

European Space Agency

“Dr. Straat has provided an accessible, technical, sophisticated, and vulnerable inside account of our only planetary life detection mission to date.  Her insight goes beyond the available scientific literature to illuminate the humans who shaped the mission and the instruments.  For a young, female, martian enthusiast and astrobiologist, her story is a resource and an inspiration.”

~ Melissa Guzman, ExoMars MOMA team member; LATMOS PhD student