The Sky Below

Inside the helmet of a NASA legend.

Astronaut Dr. Scott Parazynski was raised in the shadow of the Apollo Program, where his father, a rocket scientist and engineer, worked. In The Sky Below, his intimate memoir, he offers a rare portrait of NASA from the inside. As an era of moon missions transitioned to the era of the space shuttle, space station, and Mars research, Parazynski flew five missions to outer space and conducted seven spacewalks in his seventeen-year career. Mission highlights include a global ozone mapping mission on STS-66, leading the first joint US-Russian spacewalk during STS-86 while docked to the Russian space station Mir, and serving as Senator John Glenn's crewmate and personal physician during STS-95.

In October 2007, Parazynski famously led the spacewalking team on STS-120, a highly complex space station assembly flight. His spacewalk was regarded by many as one of the most challenging and dangerous ever performed. He is the only astronaut to have climbed Mount Everest, which he achieved in 2009 after a near-death injury on his first attempt the year before.

The Sky Below is an unparalleled opportunity to viscerally feel what it’s like to train for—and deploy to—a home in zero gravity, while also portraying a passionate astronaut’s engagement with the challenges of Earth and the destiny of love.