The year is 2035, and the crew from the first expedition to Mars is returning to Earth. The crewmembers are anxious to get home, and ennui pervades the ship. The mood is broken by a series of mysterious events that jeopardize their safety. Someone or something is threatening the crew. Is it an alien being? A psychotic crewmember? A malfunctioning computer? The truth raises questions about the crewmembers' fate and that of the human race.

In this novel, the intent is to show real psychological issues that could affect a crew returning from a long-duration mission to Mars. The storyline presents a mystery that keeps the reader guessing, yet the issues at stake are based on the findings from the author's research and other space-related work over the past 40+ years. The novel touches on actual plans being discussed for such an expedition as well as notions involving the search for Martian life and panspermia.

The underlying science, in particular the psychological, psychiatric, and interpersonal elements, are introduced and discussed by the author in an extensive appendix.

Autorentext
Dr. Kanas is Professor Emeritus (Psychiatry), University of California, San Francisco. He has been the principal investigator of several NASA-funded research grants studying the interpersonal interactions of astronauts in space. He has written about the psychosocial impact of long duration space missions since 1971. Together with Dietrich Manzey, he is the co-author of the book Space Psychology and Psychiatry (2nd ed., Springer, 2008), which was given the 2004 International Academy of Astronautics Life Science Book Award. In 1999, Dr. Kanas received the Aerospace Medical Association Longacre Award for Outstanding Accomplishment in the Psychological and Psychiatric Aspects of Aerospace Medicine. In 2008, he received the International Academy of Astronautics Life Science Award.

Inhalt

Part I: The Novel.- The New Martians.- Part II: The Science Behind the Fiction.- Psychological Issues During an Expedition to Mars.- References.