After watching the moon landings as a child, I've long wondered when humans would visit a world beyond the moon and what that would be like. This led me to explore novels that imagine space travel. What's more, I pursued a career in astronomy so I could do my part to explore worlds beyond the Earth. Exploring the solar system and worlds beyond our solar system raises many questions. Some are practical, like how do we get there? Some involve what we'll learn and how the experience of visiting these worlds will change us. The books I recommend explore these themes from several different perspectives.
Carl Sagan's PBS series Cosmosinfluenced my decision to pursue a career in astronomy, but I have always been a science fiction fan. When Sagan released a science fiction novel, I knew I needed it. He doesn't disappoint. He roots his story in the real Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence and imagines what could happen if we actually did contact life among the stars and they gave us a way to travel to them. I also love that much of the story is set at the Very Large Array radio telescope in New Mexico, where I worked during my senior year of college. His protagonist Ellie Arroway reminds me of many women I've worked with in the field.
Set in the near future, this novel imagines that the Americans and Chinese are racing to get to Mars. Meanwhile, a group of teenagers team up with an astronaut forced to retire in disgrace. One of the teens has invented a new type of drive that might just allow them to beat both governments to Mars. The book is fast-paced, fun, and shows how a team can come together to solve a problem, without ignoring the very real dangers of space travel. It also gives a nod to how technology developed for space travel can help us right here on Earth.
“The heart-pounding space race is on . . . in this riveting SF thriller” from the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author of Red Lightning and Rolling Thunder (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
As Chinese and US spacecraft compete to be the first to land on Mars, a former astronaut, his cousin, and four teens from Florida decide to take matters into their own hands. If they can quickly build their own space-worthy ship using scrap metal, appliances, and power tools, they have a chance to come from behind—thanks to an inventive new power source that can propel them to the Red…
What if an alien race shepherded humans from hunter-gatherers to space farers? What would be the next step in that process? While speculating on those questions, Clarke gives us a realistic vision of human habitation in Earth orbit, on the moon, and a voyage to Saturn managed by an artificial intelligence. In the background of the novel, tensions build between the United States and Russia. I first read the novel in the early 1980s as the Voyager mission visited Jupiter and Saturn and the Space Shuttle program got underway. At the time, this felt like a tale that could happen. In fact, it still could happen if you imagine a somewhat more distant year in the title.
Written when landing on the moon was still a dream, and made into one of the most influential films of all time, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY remains a classic work of science fiction fifty years after its original publication.
The discovery of a black monolith on the moon leads to a manned expedition deep into the solar system, in the hope of establishing contact with an alien intelligence. Yet long before the crew can reach their destination, the voyage descends into disaster . . .
Brilliant, compulsive and prophetic, Arthur C. Clarke's timeless novel tackles the enduring theme of mankind's…
Ray Bradbury's masterful collection is less a look at how to solve the problem of visiting and colonizing our neighboring planet and more a look at how such an enterprise will affect humans as people. Not only will noble and brave humans go to Mars, but humans with selfish desires. Humans will bring memories of their hometowns and lost loves. Humans will bring their conflicts, and there is a real danger they'll do harm to Mars in the long run. While the book focuses on Mars, Bradbury imagines exploration of other worlds in the solar system. The book comes from a time when we thought there might be canal-building Martians, but that tells us something about ourselves as well.
The Martian Chronicles, a seminal work in Ray Bradbury's career, whose extraordinary power and imagination remain undimmed by time's passage, is available from Simon & Schuster for the first time.
In The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury, America’s preeminent storyteller, imagines a place of hope, dreams, and metaphor— of crystal pillars and fossil seas—where a fine dust settles on the great empty cities of a vanished, devastated civilization. Earthmen conquer Mars and then are conquered by it, lulled by dangerous lies of comfort and familiarity, and enchanted by the lingering glamour of an ancient, mysterious native race. In this classic work…
Verne's novel about a journey to the moon appeared in 1867, over a century before the first real moon shot. Despite that, Verne gets many details about a trip the moon right, such as the first ship to the moon having a three-man crew, the ship would be built out of aluminum, and the need to launch from a site between 28 degrees north and south latitude. More to the point, he explains why these aspects are important. Verne also knew the limitations of his knowledge. He didn't know how to accomplish a moon launch, but he took advantage of that lapse to satirize America and its love of guns. Verne's novel still stands up as a book ahead of its time.
Unabridged version translated by Louis Mercier with 80 black and white illustrations and the original cover. Includes the sequel A Trip Round It
A beautiful edition with 80 images from the 1874 English edition. Use Amazon's Lookinside feature to compare this edition with others. You'll be impressed by the differences. Don't be fooled by other versions that have no illustrations or contain very small print. Reading our edition will make you feel that you are traveling to the moon yourself. If you like our book, be sure to leave a review!
In the year 2074, Jonathan Jefferson became the last human to set foot on the planet Mars. Nineteen years later, Natalie Freeman violated presidential orders and brokered peace in the Middle East. The year is now 2098. Thomas Quinn discovers particles near Saturn that could provide unlimited energy to Earth. The Quinn Corporation builds a solar sail spacecraft commanded by Jefferson and Freeman to investigate. Along the way, they stop at Mars and Jupiter and find wonders and dangers beyond their imagination. Step aboard the Solar Sail Aristarchusand sail the solar sea.
He’s riddled with guilt. She’s annoyed with the status quo.
The death of a crime boss’s daughter forces Detective Neil Caldera to leave NYC. He seeks refuge in the tranquil embrace of a small town, where he finds himself entangled in the labyrinth of a teenage girl’s murder. Tess Fleishman’s pale skin and extreme weight loss portrays a disease she wants others to see. While inside, a compulsion for Neil fuels her passion to have him or destroy him.
He's riddled with guilt. She's annoyed with the status quo. The death of a crime boss's daughter forces Detective Neil Caldera to leave NYC. He seeks refuge in the tranquil embrace of a small town, where he finds himself entangled in the labyrinth of a teenage girl's murder. Tess Fleishman's pale skin and extreme weight loss portrays a disease she wants others to see. While inside, a compulsion for Neil fuels her passion to have him or destroy him. As Neil delves into the heart of the town's secrets, will truth deliver solace? Or will Tess prevail?
