Description

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..three, two, one... we have liftoff! From the award-winning author of Are We Alone? comes a title to propel young imaginations far into space. This Is Rocket Science explores the past, present, and future of space travel.

The compelling text—vetted by NASA scientists—is a combination of history, science, human drama, and future challenges. Readers learn how fireworks in ancient China developed into the fire arrows used by Genghis Khan; we meet Sir Isaac Newton, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and learn how their imaginations shaped rocketry. We revisit the era of Sputnik, the satellite that launched a superpower space race, ending with moonwalks and a rendezvous in space. Finally we look forward to the future challenges of Mars and beyond. We also get a sneak peek at new technologies like space elevators, solar sails, ion propulsion, and more.

About the Author

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Gloria Skurzynski is an award-winning author who has written more than 50 children's books. Her nonfiction book Almost the Real Thing won the American Institute of Physics' Science Writing Award. She has also penned numerous works for National Geographic, including Are We Alone?, an IRA/CBC Young Adults' Choice for 2006. Skurzynski lives in Boise, Idaho.

Praise For…

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Gloria Skurzynski does something unique here by writing about the early development of rocket science itself, and includes the work of scientists from a variety of countries including Russia and Germany. She starts with the history of rocketry, going back to China’s development of gunpowder and Italy’s embrace of fireworks (more valuable trivia: the word rocket is based on the Italian word rocce, which means “long thin tube”), and then moves forward into the interesting coincidence that many early rocket scientists were fans of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. Is that cool or what?—Colleen Mondor, Bookslut.com