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Here are descriptions of two books that we believe will interest ASK readers.

In the fall 2009 issue of ASK, Ed Hoffman wrote that the excessive optimism or pessimism of project teams can obscure the realities they need to understand to carry out their projects successfully.

By Wendy Dolci, Ed Goolish, and Carl Pilcher   How does life begin and evolve? Is there life elsewhere in the universe? What is the future of life on Earth and beyond?

By Alexandre Korowajczuk and Andrea Coelho Farias Almeida   One afternoon in October 1986, after more than thirty years searching for petroleum in the Amazon region, we were drilling the last authorized well in the Urucu region.

By Haley Stephenson Satellites that can fit in a backpack are shrinking technology, reframing satellite science, and providing valuable mission training and experience to the next generation of engineers.

By Ken Randle   When I was working for the Sperry Corporation in the sixties, we submitted a proposal to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to provide support for their unmanned space exploration programs.

By Andrew Petro   The idea behind NASA’s Centennial Challenges program, which offers cash prizes for successful solutions to important and clearly defined technical problems, is that innovation can come from anywhere.

  By Donald Pettit Cities at night, when viewed from orbit, offer a spectacular display.

By Rick Obenschain   On February 24, 2009, a Taurus XL launch vehicle carrying the Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.