Available now through Harvard University Press, Barnes & Nobel, Amazon, and local book stores. Read a book excerpt on Wired.com, “How Space Tries to Kill You and Make You Ugly”. Read my op-ed on the May 2020 SpaceX launch with astronauts to the ISS published in The Baltimore Sun. Read the reviews in Science News, E&T, Science, The Guardian, Physics Today, and Les Échos. Hear me discuss the book on Spacewalks, Money Talks, What We’re Drinking with Dan Dunn and Futureproof with John McCrea. # 1 new release in Astronomy, in Mars, and in Comets, Meteors & Asteroids on Amazon. Here’s what others are saying… “Spacefarers is the best book I’ve read on space exploration since Isaac Asimov. When I came of age in the 1960s, talk of colonizing the moon and Mars was as common as it was inspiring. But as the decades pass, it seems to be a goal that is still ten years away—and always will be. Why? As Christopher Wanjek reveals in this captivating read, the obstacles multiply, politically and scientifically, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot overcome them.” —Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine and author of The Moral Arc and Heavens on Earth “This book offers a witty yet in-depth exploration of the prospects for human habitation beyond Earth. Christopher Wanjek takes us on a bones-to-brain tour of human anatomy and psychology under extreme living conditions, from orbit around Earth to the far reaches of the solar system. Spacefarers is accessible, authoritative, and in the end, inspiring.” —Richard Panek, author of The Trouble with Gravity: Solving the Mystery Beneath Our Feet “Wanjek gives readers a detailed and pragmatic look at living in space. Spacefarers explores not only the science and technology behind space travel, but also the economic, legal, and psychological challenges that await us.” —Isaac Arthur, host of Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur “Spacefarers delves into the past, present, and future of space exploration in a way that really lets you picture what’s possible, in all its mind-boggling glory.” —Maren Hunsberger, science communicator # 1 New Release in Mars on Amazon Publisher’s description: A wry and compelling take on the who, how, and why of near-future colonies in space. From bone-whittling microgravity to eye-popping profits, the risks and rewards of space settlement have never been so close at hand. More than fifty years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, why is there so little human presence in space? Will we ever reach Mars? What will it take to become a multiplanet species, colonizing the solar system and traveling to other stars? Spacefarers meets these questions head on. While many books have speculated on the possibility of living beyond the Earth, few have delved into the practical challenges or plausible motives for leaving the safe confines of our home planet. Christopher Wanjek argues that there is little doubt we will be returning to the Moon and exploring Mars in the coming decades, given the potential scientific and commercial bonanza. Private industry is already taking a leading role and earning profits from human space activity. This can be, Wanjek suggests, a sustainable venture and a natural extension of earthbound science, business, and leisure. He envisions hotels in low-earth orbit and mining, tourism, and science on the Moon. He also proposes the slow, steady development of science bases on Mars, to be followed by settlements if Martian gravity will permit reproduction and healthy child development. An appetite for wonder will take us far, but if we really want to settle new worlds, we’ll need the earnest plans of engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs. Wanjek introduces us to those planners, who are striving right now to make life in space a reality.

Available now through Harvard University Press, Barnes & Nobel, Amazon, and local book stores.

Read a book excerpt on Wired.com, “How Space Tries to Kill You and Make You Ugly”.

Read my op-ed on the May 2020 SpaceX launch with astronauts to the ISS published in The Baltimore Sun.

Read the reviews in Science News, E&T, Science, The Guardian, Physics Today, and Les Échos. Hear me discuss the book on Spacewalks, Money Talks, What We’re Drinking with Dan Dunn and Futureproof with John McCrea.

# 1 new release in Astronomy, in Mars, and in Comets, Meteors & Asteroids on Amazon.

Here’s what others are saying…

“Spacefarers is the best book I’ve read on space exploration since Isaac Asimov. When I came of age in the 1960s, talk of colonizing the moon and Mars was as common as it was inspiring. But as the decades pass, it seems to be a goal that is still ten years away—and always will be. Why? As Christopher Wanjek reveals in this captivating read, the obstacles multiply, politically and scientifically, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot overcome them.”

—Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine and author of The Moral Arc and Heavens on Earth

“This book offers a witty yet in-depth exploration of the prospects for human habitation beyond Earth. Christopher Wanjek takes us on a bones-to-brain tour of human anatomy and psychology under extreme living conditions, from orbit around Earth to the far reaches of the solar system. Spacefarers is accessible, authoritative, and in the end, inspiring.”

—Richard Panek, author of The Trouble with Gravity: Solving the Mystery Beneath Our Feet

“Wanjek gives readers a detailed and pragmatic look at living in space. Spacefarers explores not only the science and technology behind space travel, but also the economic, legal, and psychological challenges that await us.”

—Isaac Arthur, host of Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur

“Spacefarers delves into the past, present, and future of space exploration in a way that really lets you picture what’s possible, in all its mind-boggling glory.”

—Maren Hunsberger, science communicator

# 1 New Release in Mars on Amazon

Publisher’s description: A wry and compelling take on the who, how, and why of near-future colonies in space. From bone-whittling microgravity to eye-popping profits, the risks and rewards of space settlement have never been so close at hand.

More than fifty years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, why is there so little human presence in space? Will we ever reach Mars? What will it take to become a multiplanet species, colonizing the solar system and traveling to other stars?

Spacefarers meets these questions head on. While many books have speculated on the possibility of living beyond the Earth, few have delved into the practical challenges or plausible motives for leaving the safe confines of our home planet. Christopher Wanjek argues that there is little doubt we will be returning to the Moon and exploring Mars in the coming decades, given the potential scientific and commercial bonanza. Private industry is already taking a leading role and earning profits from human space activity. This can be, Wanjek suggests, a sustainable venture and a natural extension of earthbound science, business, and leisure. He envisions hotels in low-earth orbit and mining, tourism, and science on the Moon. He also proposes the slow, steady development of science bases on Mars, to be followed by settlements if Martian gravity will permit reproduction and healthy child development.

An appetite for wonder will take us far, but if we really want to settle new worlds, we’ll need the earnest plans of engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs. Wanjek introduces us to those planners, who are striving right now to make life in space a reality.