Jonathan Dransfield was a child when man first stood on the moon. There was an expectation that the next place to visit would be Mars. It never happened, but the awe and wonder of the solar system and the universe has lived with him since.

When the current interest in visiting the red planet resurfaced he felt that the crazy schemes like send people on a one way trip was not the way to go. As an architect he was used to designing things and solving problems.

The key problem is weight. To date we have only dropped robots onto the surface, the problem of a manned mission is getting the crew back off the planet. Solving this is the key.

Perhaps it was the fact that Dransfield and his partner have nine kids between them compelled him the write this book. He also knows that kids at times can be smarter than adults, especially with modern technology.

Dransfield is a visual person and used his drawing talents to develop the plot. He has created an illustrated book ‘The Other Things’ a study on how to go to Mars and get some peace and quiet.