CMA Presents "Astro Turf: The Private Life of Rocket Science"

During the late 1960s, while M.G. Lord was growing up as a teenager in Southern California and her mother was dying of cancer, Lord's father, an engineer, "disappeared" into his work at JPL, building the space probes of the Mariner Mars '69 mission. Thirty years later, Lord found herself reporting on JPL activities, triggering childhood memories and a desire to revisit her past as a way of understanding the ethos of rocket science. Astro Turf: The Private Life of Rocket Science, which was published in January 2005, is the result of her journey of discovery.

Come hear the author discuss the writing of Astro Turf, which tells the human story of U.S. planetary exploration. Lord will take questions from the audience and also sign copies of the book, which can be purchased at the JPL Store and Caltech Bookstore.

M.G. Lord is a cultural critic and investigative journalist. Since 1995, she has been a regular contributor to The New York Times Book Review and Arts & Leisure sections. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times Book Review section, and ArtForum. Before becoming a freelance writer, Lord was a syndicated political cartoonist and columnist for Newsday for 14 years.

This free event is open to members of the Caltech and JPL communities.