The Phobos Expedition is about a NASA mission to the tiny Martian moon, Phobos. The objective is to scan the surface of Phobos in preparation for future landings and determine whether a decades-old urban legend about Phobos being an artificial satellite put in place by an ancient alien civilization is true or not. Set in Houston, the novel melds the Western Heritage of Texas with the complex and demanding technology of the space program.
The humans aboard the Ares I spacecraft are commanded by an android with human-like intelligence–and desires–who can endure the endless hours in control of a voyage lasting more than a year. Other key characters in the story include a woman who is a NASA executive seeking a promotion to NASA’s top job, her husband who manages a family ranch west of Amarillo, and a set of identical twins who are studying the concept of telepathic communications in deep space under the tutelage of a brilliant physicist–who has a yen to become a real cowboy.
Prior to the mission’s launch, the Russians lose an unmanned probe as it nears Phobos, the latest in a series of mysterious losses. The Russians blame the U.S. for using electronic warfare against their probes in order to give the U.S. program an advantage. They threaten to sabotage the U.S. mission unless NASA reveals the truth.
Despite the unexplained failure and the threat, NASA decides to press forward, believing a manned craft can succeed where an unmanned craft would fail. When the Ares I craft approaches Phobos, its crew and all concerned worry about sabotage and even the remote possibility of an alien attack. They pray that NASA’s decision to continue the mission was correct.
Advance Reader Comments:
The author takes us into a future where deep space travel is real and international competition is alive and well. He pushes the limits of what we know and what we hope to find, encouraging us to follow along and keeping us on edge with twists and turns that keep the story alive and entertaining. The Phobos Expedition compels us to see where the journey leads… –Frank Hughes; Chief, NASA Space Flight Training (Ret.)
A space adventure that women will enjoy, filled with characters with conflicting interests and a lovable android to die for. –Vickie Bourque; Enclave Book Club
