Space : The Human Story

Published 23/05/2024 | Paperback / softback,
Description:

From bestselling author and British astronaut Tim Peake, an inspirational human history of space travel, from the Apollo missions to our future forays to Mars. The Right Stuff for a new generation.

PERFECT GIFT FOR FATHER’S DAY’This book is brilliant – once in a blue moon. A book for the whole family.’ Chris Evans, Virgin Radio’The most wonderful book … Tim Peake is a historian and encyclopaedia of space.’ Rory Stewart’An extraordinary book. For anyone – even if you’re not interested in Space. If you’re interested in human stories and the human character – this is delightful.’ BBC Breakfast’A fascinating, detailed, playful book drawn from extensive research – Peake met seven Apollo astronauts, Russian cosmonauts and various other space technicians – as well as his considerable personal experience. Lifts the lid on what space is like: the dedication and sacrifice; the politics and pantomime; the practicalities and the peril; the glory and fame; the adjustment back to normal life.’ iPaper’A thrilling human history of space’ Daily Mirror’The bible of space travel’ Chris Moyles, Radio XAs seen in the major TV series Secrets of Our Universe with Tim Peake.

Only 656 people in human history have left Earth. In Space: The Human Story, astronaut Tim Peake traces the lives of these remarkable men and women who have forged the way, from Yuri Gagarin to Neil Armstrong, from Valentina Tereshkova to Peggy Whitson.

Full of exclusive new stories, and astonishing detail only an astronaut would know, the book conveys what space exploration is really like: the wondrous view of Earth, the surreal weightlessness, the extraordinary danger, the surprising humdrum, the unexpected humour, the newfound perspective, the years of training, the psychological pressures, the gruelling physical toll, the thrill of launch and the trepidation of re-entry. The book also examines the surprising, shocking and often poignant stories of astronauts back on Earth, whose lives are forever changed as they readjust to terra firma.

Publication of the book comes on the eve of NASA’s plans to return to the moon, fifty years after an astronaut last walked on the lunar surface. In 2024 the Artemis II mission will send four astronauts to orbit the moon. In 2025 Artemis III will send the first woman and the first person of colour to step on the lunar surface. What will separate these upcoming moonwalkers from the legendary Apollo crews? Does it still take a daring-do attitude, super-human fitness, intelligence, plus the ‘Right-stuff’ – a fabled grace under pressure? And how will astronauts travel even further – to Mars and beyond? Space: The Human Story reveals all.