The Mission: A True Story

Are we alone in the universe, or is there life out there somewhere other than Earth? In The Mission, David W. Brown tells the story of a group of scientists whose work has the potential to shed light on just that question. Readers may already be familiar with scientists’ attempts to investigate whether there’s life on Mars, but Brown follows scientists with a different focus: Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. Battling NASA’s preoccupation with Mars missions and numerous bureaucratic barriers, the scientists Brown follows advocate over many years for a mission to Europa—a mission with the potential to answer questions that mystify planetary scientists and laypeople alike.

The Mission is incredibly detailed and well researched, and while this level of detail is a strength of the book, it is also one of its weaknesses. With such a large cast of characters, many described in detail, it was sometimes hard to keep track of who was who or form a strong connection with any one of the book’s key players. Though the book seems like it could have been streamlined, the clarity of the book’s science communication and the scope of its story are impressive, and The Mission is well worth a read.