top of page

To Mars with Love, by Patricia Ann Straat, is the true and intimate account of a young woman's journey into space exploration sciences. As Co-Experimenter of the Viking Labeled Release Experiment (LR), Dr. Straat worked side by side with engineers to develop one of three life detection experiments sent to Mars on the 1976 Viking Mission. Her experiences in laboratories and conference rooms are juxtaposed to her parallel experiences in the beach side communities of Los Angeles, and with the equestrian worlds

of Maryland and California.

39-PatWithTSM_website.jpg

Author with LR Test Instrument

47-1974 Hunt_website.jpg

The controversial LR results, positive for microbial life, have been published many times, but the story of the development of the LR flight experiment—with all its challenges, trials, and tribulations—has never before been told. The book encapsulates the six years prior to the Viking landing as well as the primary mission in its tense and humorous moments, bringing to life both the atmosphere and people involved in the mission.

A Maryland Hunt Starting out on a crisp fall day.

The engineering aspects, with never-before-published details, emphasize the enormous problems encountered in such an endeavor. 

 

The question of life on Mars is discussed in balanced perspective along with possible problems and directions for future Mars exploration.

27-PatLander_website.jpg
Straat_Front Cover_website.jpg

To Mars with Love

by Patricia Ann Straat

ISBN: 978-1-64111-150-8

Full Color Hardcover Limited Edition

304 pages with 91 Photos and Figures

Publication Date: January 16, 2019

Price: $29.99 (USD) plus shipping

​

Contact: info@tomarswithlove.com

Author with Test Lander at JPL

The book includes photos of Viking scientists, Viking memorabilia, and the author’s compelling reflections as she takes us back in time to the unprecedented Viking years.

TRWViking_website.jpg
VikingShip_website.jpg
LanderSticker_website.jpg
Reviews & News

Reviews & News

“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

“To Mars with Love tells the amazing story of how 
the Labeled Release life detection experiment was 
developed into a flight instrument for NASA’s 1976 
Viking Mission to Mars, and the surprising positive 
results obtained on Mars.  The story is told in more 
detail, and more convincingly, than has been reported elsewhere.  The book also provides vignettes, some hilarious, some frightening, of how Dr. Straat kept her sanity during her ten grueling years on the project.  The book makes a strong case for breaking the ancient Paradigm ‘we are alone.’  Indeed, Pat, with her To Mars with Love, may be casting the first jewel. 

Gilbert V. Levin, Experimenter

Viking Labeled Release Experiment

“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

Your book was a very nice read indeed, from several standpoints: as a science history book, something particularly dear to my heart; as a detailed account of a key experimental endeavor to find evidence of life on Mars in the 1970s, again something dear to my heart; and as a human adventure, with your personal memories and anecdotes mixing your scientific involvement, your passion for riding horses, and your rendition of curious meetings with Californian individuals that carry lots of fun and emotion. Finally, I enjoyed reading the book as the COSPAR Director, with several references to COSPAR Assemblies which I attended as a scientist, and to COSPAR guidelines pertaining to Planetary Protection. Great book, in all respects.

Jean-Louis Fellous

Executive Director, COSPAR

(Committee on Space Research)

Readers Reviews

Reviews & News

“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

“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.

“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

“To Mars with Love tells the amazing story of how 
the Labeled Release life detection experiment was 
developed into a flight instrument for NASA’s 1976 
Viking Mission to Mars, and the surprising positive 
results obtained on Mars.  The story is told in more 
detail, and more convincingly, than has been reported elsewhere.  The book also provides vignettes, some hilarious, some frightening, of how Dr. Straat kept her sanity during her ten grueling years on the project.  The book makes a strong case for breaking the ancient Paradigm ‘we are alone.’  Indeed, Pat, with her To Mars with Love, may be casting the first jewel. 

Gilbert V. Levin, Experimenter

Viking Labeled Release Experiment

“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

“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

Your book was a very nice read indeed, from several standpoints: as a science history book, something particularly dear to my heart; as a detailed account of a key experimental endeavor to find evidence of life on Mars in the 1970s, again something dear to my heart; and as a human adventure, with your personal memories and anecdotes mixing your scientific involvement, your passion for riding horses, and your rendition of curious meetings with Californian individuals that carry lots of fun and emotion. Finally, I enjoyed reading the book as the COSPAR Director, with several references to COSPAR Assemblies which I attended as a scientist, and to COSPAR guidelines pertaining to Planetary Protection. Great book, in all respects.

Jean-Louis Fellous

Executive Director, COSPAR

(Committee on Space Research)

Readers Reviews

"To Mars With Love" reads like a captivating novel filled with science, engineering, and human challenges (faced and overcome), and amusing interactions with neighbors in the beach side community of LA. It is filled with interesting personalities, from Nobel scientists to equestrians of all ilk and form, and laced with personal experiences documenting the development of the biology investigation "Labelled Release" instrument and her own life as a young woman scientist in an era that was competitive but brought together the greatest minds to accomplish feats never before attempted. Her light style and intensity remind me of other favorite Authors such as Richard Feynman, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, and Studs Terkel, oral historian extraordinaire. She is fascinating and inspiring, but presents her life as her work, in a detailed and objective manner, with wry humor that often only comes from the outside in. And yet its true! I want to see it in film!" 
​
Rachel - Oregon
​
​
​
"A fascinating, first-hand account of the life detection experiments conducted by the Viking Lander on Mars. The book is filled with tons of details about how the first experiments to detect life on Mars were designed and carried out. Interspersed with never before seen diagrams and candid pictures of the scientific team, the author also shares some very entertaining tales from her personal life, especially her adventures riding horses as a member of a local hunt club. 

I never really thought about what was needed to design an experiment to be carried out on a planet millions of miles from the researchers, especially with the technology available in the 1970’s, but the author lays out the thought processes behind the experiments, and how the team dealt with all the challenges. She explains it in an easy to understand manner, and kept my attention all through the book. 

I would love to see a movie made from this - sort of a ‘Hidden Figures’ meets ‘The Martian’!"
​
Michelle - Maryland
​
​
​
"Just finished this book. Wow! What an insight. Between the excitement, trials, problems, failures and successes with LR, entwined with the heartache of losing a friend, a horse and a dog, and the colorful life with friends and horses, this is quite a story. To Mars With Love was an informative and delightful read. I didn’t want to put it down."
 
Virginia – New York