Maggie Koerth-Baker’s New York Times Magazine story, “Danger! This Mission to Mars Could Bore You to Death!” has been included in the 2014 volume of the Best American Science and Nature Writing anthology series, published on October 7 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The piece looks at an experiment that simulates what life might be like for astronauts on Mars, and one of the conclusions it’s made: That the biggest challenge to life on the red planet is rather, well, quotidian—it’s boredom. Koerth-Baker, a member of the current class of Nieman Fellows, is a columnist for The New York Times Magazine and the science editor at BoingBoing.net. She is the author of “Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before it Conquers Us,” published in 2012.