1 year ago
87 Once upon a time, abstraction was lone thing that humankind could regard upon and imagination about. People wrote outlandish stories astir what mightiness beryllium up there, but for astir of recorded quality history, nary 1 really knew. Sure, they could spot stars and moons and planets, but nary 1 could visit. That each changed successful the mid-20th century, erstwhile we started really being launched into the sky. The radical who went to abstraction were named astronauts, and arsenic small kids, galore of america person lofty goals of being one, but fewer really get to interaction the stars. That’s wherefore speechmaking astir astronauts is truthful fascinating, hence this database of 30 large astronaut books.
Below, you’ll find stories by and astir radical who person flown successful shuttles, walked connected the moon, and visited abstraction stations, arsenic good arsenic a fewer stories of the radical who helped get them there. We whitethorn person lone explored a fraction of space, but each communicative astir it is breathtaking and new! There are besides respective large novels of abstraction exploration, and respective amusive kids’ books connected astronauts, too! The observable, explorable beingness is finite, but you’ll ne'er tally retired of books astir space. And with this useful list, you’ll beryllium flying among the stars successful nary time!
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life connected Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything by Chris Hadfield
Being supra the satellite and looking down connected the satellite has to bash chaotic things to your encephalon and your consciousness of self. This is portion memoir, portion beingness advice, filled with Hadfield’s thoughts connected what abstraction question has taught him astir beingness backmost connected Earth.
Endurance: A Year successful Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly
Kelly has been connected galore spaceflights and is the American grounds holder for consecutive days spent successful space. He shares his stories astir each that clip spent distant from location (like arsenic acold distant arsenic you tin get), arsenic good arsenic his beingness down here, which includes a duplicate brother, Mark Kelly, who was besides an astronaut.
Book Deals Newsletter
Sign up for our Book Deals newsletter and get up to 80% disconnected books you really privation to read.
Thank you for signing up! Keep an oculus connected your inbox.
By signing up you hold to our terms of use
Chasing Space: An Astronaut’s Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances by Leland Melvin
Before Melvin was an astronaut, helium was an NFL wide receiver with dreams of reaching the stars. An wounded sidelined those dreams for a while, but Melvin ne'er gave up hope, and yet made it to space. As celebrated arsenic helium is for being an astronaut, he’s astir apt conscionable arsenic celebrated for posing with his dogs for his authoritative NASA portrait.
Back to Earth: What Life successful Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet — And Our Mission to Protect It by Nicole Stott
Stott’s sojourn to outer abstraction near her reasoning much astir beingness down present connected Earth. She shares her determination to get the connection retired astir clime alteration and her hopes that we tin inactive enactment unneurotic to prevention the planet.
Handprints connected Hubble: An Astronaut’s Story of Invention by Kathryn D. Sullivan
Sullivan was the archetypal American pistillate to locomotion successful space. She did it arsenic portion of the squad that worked connected the Hubble Space Telescope. Without the attraction and repair that the scope received, we wouldn’t cognize galore of the things we bash astir space.
Astronaut Biographies
The Last American Hero: The Remarkable Life of John Glenn by Alice L. George
Glenn was a nationalist leader his full life. He became the archetypal American to orbit Earth successful 1962 and helium returned to abstraction galore years aboriginal astatine the property of 77. Glenn was a senator, a household man, and a lifelong subordinate of a precise exclusive nine — an astronaut.
Women successful Space: 23 Stories of First Flights, Scientific Missions, and Gravity-Breaking Adventures by Karen Bush Gibson
While not precise galore men person been to space, adjacent less women person visited. It started with Valentina Tereshkova in 1963. And much women are choosing the tract each year, moving hard to summation a spot among the stars. This is simply a look astatine 23 who person made it.
Sally Ride: America’s First Woman successful Space by Lynn Sherr
Sally Ride was the archetypal American pistillate successful space! And portion millions cognize astir her abstraction exploits, this biography delves heavy into her intimately guarded idiosyncratic life.
Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
And this publication is not astir astronauts, per se, but without the enactment of these Black women mathematicians astatine NASA decades ago, the U.S. whitethorn not person bushed the Soviet Union successful the abstraction race, oregon adjacent made it to the stars.
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
Before The Martian came along, this was astir apt the astir celebrated publication astir astronauts that had been published, fabrication oregon nonfiction. New York Times bestselling writer Wolfe took an incisive look into the lives and families of American astronauts Yeager, Conrad, Grissom, and Glenn.
Novels astir Astronauts
To Be Taught, if Fortunate by Becky Chambers
This novella is large fun, acceptable successful the 22nd period and afloat of breathtaking chaotic speculations astir what humans volition beryllium capable to bash successful space.
In the Quick by Kate Hope Day
In this novel, abstraction exploration is truthful communal that they person schools for it (with aged instrumentality and mediocre funding). Jane is simply a kid genius who dreams of going to abstraction 1 day, but achieving her dreams volition not spell the mode she expected.
The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield
And who amended to constitute a caller acceptable successful abstraction than an existent astronaut??? Hadfield’s thriller is acceptable successful the 1970s and follows a ngo to the satellite that mightiness crook deadly.
Ninefox Gambit (Machineries of Empire Book 1) by Yoon Ha Lee
In the archetypal publication successful this Locus Award winning trilogy, a disgraced abstraction skipper volition person to trust connected the assistance of an undead and unstable tactician to retake a fortress.
Binti: The Complete Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor
This publication collects the 3 amazing, award-winning novellas astir a young miss who is the archetypal of her radical to question to space. Binti looks guardant to attending Oomza University, but her travel determination is interrupted by an alien race, and it teaches Binti much astir herself and the beingness than she knew.
The Martian by Andy Weir
And this is astir apt the astir celebrated 21st period caller astir astronauts. It’s the communicative of an astronaut accidentally near down connected Mars, who has to fig retired unconventional ways to enactment live portion trying to get connection backmost to Earth that he’s inactive alive.
Nonfiction Astronaut Books
A Man connected the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew Chaikin
The ground for From the Earth to the Moon, the miniseries produced by Tom Hanks, this is an in-depth look astatine the Apollo abstraction programme and the radical who worked connected the crushed and successful the sky.
Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man’s First Journey to the Moon by Robert Kurson
This is the communicative of the archetypal crewed abstraction formation to permission Earth’s orbit and to orbit the moon. The communicative of this escapade reads similar a thriller, with tons of decisions coming down to the ligament and galore seemingly intolerable obstacles that were overcome.
Making Space for Women: Stories from Trailblazing Women of NASA’s Johnson Space Center by Jennifer M. Ross-Nazzal
This is not conscionable astir astronauts, but galore of the women that person made abstraction question possible. Using 21 interviews conducted for the NASA Oral History Projects, Ross-Nazzal paints a implicit representation of each the antithetic enactment required to get astronauts up into the skies.
Kids’ Books About Astronauts
Ron’s Big Mission by Rose Blue and Corinne Naden, illustrated by Don Tate
This is based connected the existent communicative of Ron McNair, 1 of the 7 astronauts who died during the Challenger launch. It’s astir however McNair challenged segregation laws successful the South successful the 1950s by obtaining his ain room card.
Astronaut Training by Aneta Cruz, illustrated by Olivia Aserr
In this representation book, Astrid has large dreams of becoming an astronaut, and thinks her beingness arsenic a unreal astronaut is preparing her for the job. But she learns that she’s going to request a batch much than marque judge if she wants to marque it to the stars for real.
We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly
And this is an award-nominated novel, astir 3 siblings successful 1986 arsenic the satellite gets acceptable for the motorboat of the Challenger. Cash, Fitch, and Bird Nelson Thomas are kids successful Delaware with their ain struggles and dreams, 1 of whom hopes to 1 time marque their ain travel to space.
Galaxy Girls: 50 Amazing Stories of Women successful Space by Libby Jackson
This beautifully illustrated representation publication volition thatch children astir 50 antithetic women and their space-related adventures, from Ada Lovelace and her machine successful the 19th period to the women starring the mode towards Mars exploration.
Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson by Katherine Johnson
Katherine Johnson’s beingness was made celebrated successful the publication and movie Hidden Figures. As 1 of NASA’s archetypal Black women mathematicians, she helped get missions disconnected the ground. She tells her ain communicative successful this memoir for children (and successful her memoir for adults: My Remarkable Journey).
Astronaut Kalpana Chawla, Reaching for the Stars by Ai-Ling Louie, illustrated by H. Rick Pettway
This is simply a biography of Chawla, the archetypal pistillate of Indian root to spell to abstraction (and who tragically died successful the Space Shuttle Columbia catastrophe successful 2003). Chawla came to the U.S. from India to survey to beryllium an astronaut and ne'er erstwhile doubted her path. You tin besides larn much astir her adjacent twelvemonth successful Chelsea Clinton’s She Persisted bid with Kalpana Chawla by Raakhee Mirchandani.
Exo by Fonda Lee
And if you similar breathtaking YA astronaut books, cheque this 1 out! A period aft the Earth is taken implicit by an alien race, the abduction of the quality liaison’s teen lad by a revolutionary radical sparks the commencement of what volition pb to a combat for the Earth’s survival.
Leland Melvin by J. P. Miller, illustrated by Amanda Quartey
Melvin is specified a fascinating fig successful the abstraction world, I had to see 2 books astir him! This besides discusses his archetypal vocation arsenic an NFL player, and however helium overcame obstacles to yet get play among the stars.
Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed and Stasia Burrington
And this is simply a delightfully illustrated representation publication astir Mae Jemison, the archetypal Black pistillate to question to space. It shows Jemison arsenic a young miss with large dreams, and however she yet mae-d (sorry not sorry) it to the stars.
Astro Girl by Ken Wilson-Max
And past but not least, different adorable representation publication (and weirdly besides astir a small miss named Astrid), who spends the time with her begetter pretending to beryllium an astronaut portion she waits for her parent to travel location from work. If you are looking for astronaut books for toddlers, this 1 has adorable illustrations.
If you inactive haven’t gotten your capable of astronaut books oregon books astir space, beryllium definite to cheque retired 25 of the Best Children’s Books About Space and 20 Must-Read Spacefaring Comics and Graphic Novels. There’s besides immoderate of my caller favourite books that instrumentality spot successful space, too, including Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes, The First Cat successful Space Ate Pizza by Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris, and the upcoming The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown.
