A launch party for “Rescue Mode” will be held on June 7 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Books A Million, 7830 U.S. 72. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Local author Les Johnson will host a book launch party for “Rescue Mode” on June 7.

The party will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. at Books A Million, 7830 U.S. 72 in Madison. Snacks and drinks will be provided by Joe Muggs cafe in the bookstore.

The event will “celebrate the release of my latest hardcover science fiction novel from Baen Books,” Johnson said. “We hope you can join us.” John and Ben Bova co-authored the book.

“Rescue Mode” warns that “the first humans on Mars may be the last,” Johnson said. The first human mission to Mars meets with disaster when a meteoroid strikes the spacecraft.

Too far from Earth, the ship cannot reverse its route and return home. Eight crew members must guide their crippled ship to Mars while they desperately struggle to survive, Johnson said.

“On Earth, powerful political forces that oppose human space flight try to use the accident as proof that sending humans into space is too dangerous and expensive to continue,” he said. The future of manned flights into space is in jeopardy.

“If the astronauts can’t nurse their ship to Mars and back, the voyagers will become either the first Martian colonists — or the first humans to perish on another planet,” Johnson said.

In the May 15th issue of “Booklist,” a reviewer wrote that “Rescue Mode” is “a suspenseful and compelling narrative of the first human space flight to Mars.

“The narrative highlights many positive aspects of human nature, including the wonders of innovation in stressful situations and the fierce will to survive despite impossible odds,” the “Booklist” reviewer wrote.

Johnson serves as deputy manager for the Advanced Concepts Office at Marshall Space Flight Center.

“Rescue Mode” is available at local bookstores and online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million.

For more information, visit lesjohnsonauthor.com or Facebook/Les Johnson Author.