We can’t all be astronauts. However, many of us want to know what it’s like up in space. From authors who have studied space travel to astronauts who have had first-hand experiences, different people have written books about space that help us know exactly what space travel is like. Here are five of the best books to read all about it.
Delta-V
Daniel Suarez wrote “Delta-V,” a fictional book about asteroid mining. The story is about an unpredictable billionaire who recruits an adventurous cave diver to join the first-ever effort to mine an asteroid. Interestingly, the crew’s target, asteroid Ryugu, is also a real-life subject of exploration.
Since 2018, the Japanese spacecraft, Hayabusa2, has been exploring this same asteroid. The trajectories and other details that the author used in the book are backed up by science; even the book’s name is an engineering term. “Delta-V” is one of the most realistic space books.
If The Sun Dies
Oriana Fallaci wrote this book to account for the United States Apollo space missions. Oriana shows readers a striking picture of the space community and the astronauts on these missions. The book clarifies assumptions and shatters every stereotype about space travel. Was it from personal experience?
Oriana engaged in several months of research to get reliable information. The research involved access to the sites of astronauts, doctors, and scientists on the Apollo missions. Alongside factual reporting, Oriana highlighted her intellectual and emotional struggle interestingly and honestly.
Sputnik And The Soviet Space Challenge
Asif A. Siddiqi wrote this space book to give readers extensive information about the history of space travel. He writes about the feats of the USSR’s space program and its struggles from its inception to the 1970s.
The book is a scholarly and historical work based on several years of research on Russian archival sources in the post-Soviet era. Space and history lovers would love it.
The Martian
Andy Weir’s“The Martian” is one of the most famous space travel books, thanks to its film adaptation. The book is about an astronaut who got stranded on Mars and how he tried to survive against all odds.
The astronaut’s struggles, from lack of food to communication issues, are practical. “The Martian” isn’t all fiction; many of the happenings in the book are plausible, according to astronauts and scientists. It is one of those fictional books backed up by science.
How Apollo Flew To The Moon
As you might have guessed, David Woods wrote “How Apollo Flew To The Moon” as a story of the mission of the same name. The book is about the accomplishments of the Apollo missions and the different factors that made them possible.
David exhaustively explains the engineering efforts that made the Apollo missions successful in the book. Although the book includes rigorously written details, it’ll remain a favorite of many for a long time because it is engaging, even for someone with zero knowledge about space.
