The Best Books about Space, Part 1: Space Exploration and its Heroes

Although space travel remains a unique experience accessible to only a few, the prospect of going to space still captivates and inspires humankind. One way to come a little closer to the world of space exploration is through books. In the books we have featured here, you can read about key historical moments in space exploration, the personal experiences of astronauts on missions, predictions for the future, and even philosophical musings about humankind’s place in the cosmos itself.

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe 

The book, which was written by “one of the most famous journalists in the United States,” was largely the product of the author’s personal curiosity. It ultimately became one of the most iconic accounts of the post-war space race and the Mercury Project ever written. Wolfe conducted extensive research and interviewed numerous pilots, astronauts, and their families in his attempt to understand how they overcame the fear of going to space and came to terms with the risks.

In The Right Stuff, Wolfe compares the pioneers of the space race to the warriors of an earlier era. The book actually contains few technical details about the Mercury program and focuses primarily on the experiences of the astronauts and their wives. This doesn’t detract from its value. In an engaging, storytelling format, The Right Stuff explores the political motives for sending humans into space, the personal qualities astronauts must possess, and what drove us to dream of going to the Moon. When the book was published in 1979 it marked a new direction, combining elements of fiction and documentary prose.

In 1983, a film adaptation of the book was released, winning an Oscar. Later, in 2020, an eight-episode TV series was created for Disney+.

Rocket Men by Craig Nelson

Rocket Men focuses on Apollo 11, the first manned flight to the Moon and one of the greatest milestones in space exploration. To prepare for the book, the author studied tens of thousands of pages of NASA documents and declassified CIA files, allowing readers to get a sense of the scale, significance, and incredible complexity of this mission. A central part of the narrative, moreover, focuses on the American-Soviet rivalry for dominance in space.

The most thrilling part of Rocket Men is how it lets readers virtually “step into the cabin” with the astronauts and “visit” Mission Control and become silent witnesses to what happened behind the scenes. Readers are left with an appreciation for the incredible efforts of everyone involved in the Apollo 11 mission and what it meant for all of us. As reviewers from BBC History Magazine wrote, this book is “the story of humanity’s greatest adventure.”

Spacecraft by Michael X. Gorn

100 Iconic Rockets, Shuttles, and Satellites That Took Us Beyond Earth is not a dry list of technical specifications but a story of space exploration told through the lens of the technology that made it possible. The author revisits all of humanity’s attempts and achievements in striving to leave Earth, presenting engaging descriptions of spacecraft from Sputnik-1 to the International Space Station and the James Webb Telescope. The book also explores contributions by China and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Spacecraft features over 500 realistic illustrations, which Michael Gorn, a former historian at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, uses to showcase the evolution of rocket technology over more than 50 years. BookAuthority, a respected book recommendation service, praised the author’s work, calling it “one of the best books on astronautics of all time.”

Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut by Mike Mullane

NASA astronaut Mike Mullane, who was previously an Air Force pilot, completed three orbital flights as part of the Space Shuttle program, spending several hundred hours in space. His book, a New York Times bestseller, is more than just a firsthand account of the missions he participated in. Mullane takes readers behind the scenes of the Space Shuttle program, detailing the challenges of flight preparation. Readers learn about the difficulties astronauts face, their fears, and the risks involved. The book provides insight into the astronaut experience from the perspective of someone well acquainted with it. 

A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin

The book is a captivating account of the first people on the Moon. It covers many aspects of the Apollo program’s implementation, from President Kennedy’s inspiring 1961 speech to the historic landing in 1969. The uniqueness of the book’s narrative lies in its interviews with 23 out of the 24 astronauts who came close to the Moon’s surface and made these missions possible.

Chaikin describes the technical details of the flights while also revealing astronauts’ inner worlds: their experiences, fears, and incredible determination. A Man on the Moon is thus not merely a chronology of lunar exploration but also the story of transforming the human spirit, which, despite the risks, seeks to understand the unknown.

Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly

Scott Kelly completed four space flights and, as an ambassador for the United24 platform, is a strong and active supporter of Ukraine. But his most significant achievement is the record 12 consecutive months that he spent on the ISS. In his memoirs, Kelly describes his experience of life in space as a unique experiment on the body and mind, exploring the effects of weightlessness, constant confinement, physical challenges, fear, and uncertainty. He shares how, despite these conditions, crew members perform their work and contribute to science.

This book is not only a narrative about spaceflight, working on the ISS, and surviving in extreme conditions, but also an inspiring story of resilience, friendship, and the role of family support from Earth. The author generously shares personal memories of life in orbit, jokes, and dreams about future achievements in space, which he envisions as being closely tied to the exploration of Mars.

Cosmos by Carl Sagan

Astronomer and Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Sagan is known today as one of the great popularizers of science, and this iconic book takes readers into space through the lenses of science, history, and philosophy in a highly approachable format. Sagan leads readers on a journey, from ancient stargazers to our own era. In addition to discussing stars and planets, each chapter also touches on philosophy, helping readers understand where we came from, our place in the cosmos, and how our perceptions of the universe have developed.

The book was released alongside the television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which contributed to its success: Cosmos remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 70 consecutive weeks. Furthermore, it became one of the most popular science books of the 1980s, with over five million copies sold. Sagan was awarded NASA’s Public Service Medal for presenting the story of humanity through the study of space in a way that was engaging and understandable for a broad audience.

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly 

This is a fascinating story about Black women mathematicians who worked at NASA during the space race and played a key role in its success. These employees served as “human computers,” performing complex calculations by hand—essential for launching spacecraft and ensuring astronauts’ safe return to Earth. They accomplished all this with pencils, slide rules, mechanical calculators, and, above all, incredible dedication and determination.

For a long time, the contributions of these “women computers” went unrecognized, but thanks to this book (and the subsequent film, which was nominated for three Oscars), their story became known worldwide. One of the main figures, mathematician Katherine Johnson, became an inspiration for many African American women and encouraged more women to pursue science. Two NASA facilities have been named after Johnson, and in 2016 she was listed among the BBC’s 100 most influential women in the world.

Hidden Figures is a tribute to the unsung heroines of the space race, who not only fought against racial prejudice but also proved to the male-dominated world that they deserved equal opportunities in education and careers. For its powerful and revealing narrative, the book has received several awards in the nonfiction category.

By exploring space through books like these, we become witnesses to humanity’s incredible scientific achievements and gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by those who organized and participated in manned missions. In our next selection, we’ll discuss the most fascinating books dedicated to the more technical aspects of space programs that have allowed us to peer into the farthest corners of the universe.