MOUSETRONAUT SAVES THE WORLD

In senator and former astronaut Kelly’s latest, NASA’s smallest space traveler undertakes his third, and so far most important, space mission.

News of a huge asteroid hurtling toward Earth sends Meteor the Mousetronaut—at the head of a likewise furry crew from MASA (the Mousetronaut Advanced School of Aeronautics)—blasting into space for a try at nudging the massive rock away from its deadly course. The mission is successful but takes a suspenseful turn when damaged heat shields necessitate an unplanned landing on the moon and a rescue mission from Earth. As on previous missions, Kelly loads his astrotale and its lengthy afterword with astronomical and technical data related to solar system dynamics, Mars (where the expedition lands for a quick refueling) and other planets, plotting trajectories, and actual missions and plans designed to cope with both the problem of orbital debris and with the all-too-real threat of a major meteor strike. Payne adds an overview of the planets and their orbits to realistically detailed views of mice in spacesuits and racially diverse groups of human space experts and government officials, including the white-presenting president herself in her oval office.

A mighty mouse displays the right stuff once again.