With the discovery of a fossil on Mars and the threat of an asteroid heading for Earth, a frustrated American President is forced to reconsider his legacy. He decides to do something big for humanity, and orders the first manned mission to Mars. Surmounting seemingly impossible hurdles, the maverick scientist Ford Harris discovers how to make it happen. There is one crucial problem: the weight of any ordinary crew would be too great for the rocket to return home. And so Ford proposes a bold new idea - replacing the adult crew with a group of gifted children. An exciting and fascinating story, featuring beautiful illustrations and informative scientific notes, The Other Things explores our sense of wonder. Are we alone in the universe? How do we make our existence count? And what could still be possible for humankind?