Grappling with Gravity

Robert Phillips is a veterinarian and has also a doctorate in Physiology/Nutrition. He taught and conducted research at Colorado State University until 1984, when he was selected by NASA to fly on the"Spacelab Life Sciences 1," the first shuttle mission devoted to biomedical research. Ten months prior to launch Phillips had to remove himself from flight status due to a medical condition. He supported the mission from the payload operations control center. Following the mission, Phillips served for three years at NASA HQ as the Space Station Chief Scientist during the station's design phase. He then joined the NASA Life Sciences Education and Outreach program for 10 years, presenting seminars and workshops to teachers, students, and the public about the effects of spaceflight on life.

From the reviews: "In Robert W. Phillips' book, Grappling with Gravity, one can read mostly about some of the biggest problems that astronauts face in micro-gravity ... . an ideal book for those interested in the changes that the human body will experience away from the familiar Earth's environment. ... it is written in a simple way, so it might even be suitable for younger readers who have a little bit of knowledge about how the human body works." (Kadri Tinn, AstroMadness.com, May, 2014) "Written for the layman ... this is an informative survey of the problems and the effects associated with microgravity space flight. ... The book is an excellent guide to the general conditions experienced in microgravity and provides a potted history of flight through the atmosphere and early missions into space from the physiological perspective. ... With 271 pages and 113 illustrations, this is a worthy little book and one that is an easy and satisfying read ... ." (Spaceflight, Vol. 54 (7), July, 2012)

• Part I: Space Here We Come.- Chapter 1: A Great New Adventure.- Chapter 2: The Long Road to Space Flight.- Chapter 3: Why Go to Space?.- Chapter 4: Change and Prosper.- Chapter 5: Everything is Topsy-Turvy.- Chapter 6: Tomorrow's Tourist Adventures.- Part II: Life in Space.- Chapter 7: Taking Your Body to Space.- Chapter 8: Behavior in Space.- Chapter 9: An Essential Activity.- Part III: Preparing for the Future.- Chapter 10: Living Away from Earth.- Chapter 11: Taking the Plow to Mars.- Chapter 12: Speculations.- Appendix A.- Appendix B.- Acronyms.- Glossary.- Index.