Come with Max as he takes off on his next exciting science adventure, this time joining astronauts on the first human mission to Mars. Equipped with a specially designed spacesuit, Max sniffs for signs of microscopic life. Will he find any? Read the exciting story to find out, and to learn how his trip to Mars helps his young friend Tori reflect on the beauty and fragility of our own planet Earth. This is more than just a fun story. Educationally designed “Big Kid Boxes” along the sides of the pages help children and parents learn about Mars as the adventure unfolds. The book can thereby be enjoyed by people of all ages: Young children can enjoy the story alone while bigger kids learn the science concepts that lie behind the scenes. Parents and teachers can use the boxes and the end-of-book activity to create a family or classroom learning experience. This edition incorporates the latest scientific discoveries about Mars. The English-language original was the first children’s book ever launched into space and read aloud by astronauts from the International Space Station.

Jeffrey Bennett is an astrophysicist and educator who proposed the idea for and helped develop the Voyage Scale Model Solar System—the first science-oriented exhibit approved for permanent installation on the National Mall in Washington, DC. He is the lead author of bestselling college textbooks in astronomy, mathematics, statistics, and astrobiology, as well as the critically acclaimed books for the general public Beyond UFOs and Math for Life. He is also the author of children’s books, including those in the Science Adventures with Max the Dog series and El mago que salvó el mundo. He lives in Boulder, Colorado. Alan Okamoto was a children's book illustrator and a space artist who completed commissioned work for the Air Force, numerous aerospace corporations, and college textbooks. The two previously collaborated on Max viaja a la luna.