Okay, you are running out of time to buy the perfect gift. Yet you do not need to fret. You still have some good options for that friend or family member.
First, why not consider getting this person a membership in a space-advocacy organization. In this way, they can stay abreast of space news while also supporting an organization pushing (1) Congress for more space funding and (2) NASA in the direction of more exploration.
Here are three such organizations you can support:
All three space advocacy organizations also have great magazines for members.
And speaking of magazines, another option is to get this person an annual subscription to a space magazine. Here are some magazines covering astronomy that are worth considering.
I am not getting a red cent by endorsing any of these organizations and magazines, but it does make a lot of sense to consider these gift options. It is a quick and easy way to give a great gift while supporting those organizations that educate the public on space.
You may be spending the holiday weekend stuck in traffic jams at the mall, or maybe you want to find what you need online without all of the hassle. If you are going online, you might want to check out your friendly non-profit space organizations for ideas.
The Mars Rover socks shown above and much more can be found at the Mars Society’s gift shop. You can also find mugs, shirts, signed prints, models, books (such as The Case for Mars), and more. Better yet, the profits go to an organization that is actively lobbying for Mars missions and related space missions. You cannot go wrong.
I will share other ideas this season, but this first post is to get the shopping started.
Credit: The Mars Society
Note: This site is not affiliated with the Mars Society.
If you are a foodie and still looking for a holiday gift or just a fun gift, you might want to check out these two space-related books.
The first book by Vickie Kloeris, Space Bites: Reflections of a NASA Food Scientist, discusses the thinking that goes into the food prepared for NASA’s astronauts. In this case, Ms. Kloeris worked with the food eaten by astronauts on the space shuttles and the International Space Station.
Former NASA Astronaut Mike Massimino stated:
During her decades-long career at NASA, my friend and colleague Vickie Kloeris made sure my fellow astronauts and I were well-fed and healthy while in space. Space Bites is not only a compilation of stories of her amazing career but also a behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of human space travel. Read this book to be inspired and to learn, and don’t be surprised if it also leaves you hungry for some space food.
It might be the perfect book after holidays if you want some insight into the space program.
However, if you want to sample the astronaut food, you might want to check out this older book by Charles T. Borland and Gregory L. Vogt, The Astronaut’s Cookbook: Tales, Recipes, and More. It contains recipes allowing you to create astronaut-worthy meals without the freeze drying.
The book covers a lot of territory: Appetizers, Beverages, Bread and Tortillas, Cookies, Sandwiches, Desserts, Main Dishes, Soups and Salads, Vegetables, and Future Space Foods.
Charles Bourland has just retired from his job as NASA’s ‘director of space foods’, and Gregory Vogt was an astronaut trainer. They have provided us with a fascinating insight into the job of the space dietician and nutritionist, as well as a wondrous collection of recipes for the meals that were served on Skylab, Apollo, thespace shuttle and the International Space Station. … This an intriguing book, well written, and colourfully reproduced with a host of appetising pictures.
It may not be fantastic food, yet you can eat like an astronaut (and maybe suffer like an astronaut). When you sit down to dine on this strange fare, you can be pretty certain that no one else in your neighborhood will have such a dinner that evening.
For example, you may want a model of the Mars Perseverance rover and its accompanying Ingenuity helicopter (shown above) or may a signed copy of Robert Zubrin’s book The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must (shown below).
Our Awesome Universe 