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The Hazards of Space Travel: A Tourist's Guide
“I didn’t think about the dangers before going into space, but now I realize how hazardous it is!”
–Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, first person to walk in space
With the opening of the International Space Station at the start of this century and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic company planning to take people above the Earth’s atmosphere next year, widespread space travel will soon leave the realm of science fiction.
Tourist trips to the Moon, asteroids, comets, Mars, and beyond are likely to become available in the next fifty years. But space isn’t Cancún. Travelers will live life on a razor’s edge, faced with potential disasters, from the thunderous liftoff to the unpredictable volcanic eruptions on Io, Jupiter’s most spectacular moon; from the high-speed impact of pebble-sized micrometeorites to the crumbling of a comet’s surface beneath your feet.
Now renowned physicist and astronomer Neil F. Comins, Ph.D., has written a hands-on guide to outer space for potential tourists and armchair travelers. Bringing to life the hard science are the fictional log entries of an imaginary colleague from the future, astronaut Mack Richardson. Together they reveal the risks and challenges that await tourists in the days they would spend orbiting the Earth, the weeks required for a trip to the Moon, and the years needed to go anywhere else in the solar system. Space is the new frontier of extreme adventuring, and The Hazards of Space Travel is a fun, fascinating, and informative guide to your own imminent space odyssey when the sky’s no longer the limit.
–Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, first person to walk in space
With the opening of the International Space Station at the start of this century and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic company planning to take people above the Earth’s atmosphere next year, widespread space travel will soon leave the realm of science fiction.
Tourist trips to the Moon, asteroids, comets, Mars, and beyond are likely to become available in the next fifty years. But space isn’t Cancún. Travelers will live life on a razor’s edge, faced with potential disasters, from the thunderous liftoff to the unpredictable volcanic eruptions on Io, Jupiter’s most spectacular moon; from the high-speed impact of pebble-sized micrometeorites to the crumbling of a comet’s surface beneath your feet.
Now renowned physicist and astronomer Neil F. Comins, Ph.D., has written a hands-on guide to outer space for potential tourists and armchair travelers. Bringing to life the hard science are the fictional log entries of an imaginary colleague from the future, astronaut Mack Richardson. Together they reveal the risks and challenges that await tourists in the days they would spend orbiting the Earth, the weeks required for a trip to the Moon, and the years needed to go anywhere else in the solar system. Space is the new frontier of extreme adventuring, and The Hazards of Space Travel is a fun, fascinating, and informative guide to your own imminent space odyssey when the sky’s no longer the limit.
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First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 12, 2014
I started reading this book off my Kindle for iPhone -- had bought it some time before -- as relaxing lunchtime reading at the Bear Tooth (Anchorage) the day before Thanksgiving. Really, I chose it because I was in the midst of NaNoWriMo, working on a story called "Cycler" & thinking about what my character Esti Gusev, born & bred on Mars, will experience when she takes a mag launcher into space for her trip to Earth. "Martian" is synonymous with "has lived her whole life at 1/3 of Earth's gravity" -- she's had to work her hiney off to get strong enough to withstand Earth gravity, much more so to take a launcher into space instead of riding the space elevator. So, what will it be for her to be pressed back into her seat at 2 or 3 times Earth g as she rises to orbit?
Much to my surprise, as I read the chapter in this book about gravity, I discovered that I'd had Esti work so hard that she was well-equipped to deal with the high g-force for that brief duration -- what really messes her up: microgravity. From low Mars orbit to rendezvous with the cycler in which she'll travel to Earth, she gets sick as a... well, not as a dog, but rather as sick as over one-half of all astronauts & cosmonauts who've ever been to space. What sickens them is a condition called Space Adaptation Syndrome, which is caused by physiological changes due to the lack of the force of gravity that the species of Earth evolved under.
This discovery added whole new dimensions to Esti's experience in space, & her first days on the cycler. As if to underscore it, my digestive system on the day after Thanksgiving (but not because of Thanksgiving dinner: nobody else got sick -- had to be something else I ate) decided to channel Esti's digestive system. I.e., I felt pretty damn bad all that day, though fortunately I was not wearing a spacesuit helmet -- vomiting inside one, as Neil Comins points out, can be quite dangerous to one's health.
I got better, Esti got better, & the book has already proven invaluable as a research tool for my ongoing writing in my Cold/Long Dark story universe. I'm reading it all out of order, though. Right now I'm reading the stuff about radiation hazards in space. The radiation dangers are so extreme for long-term travel in space, that if I were to retain complete fidelity to science, I'd have to give up this story universe altogether. Therefore I will follow that tried & true method of all science fiction writers: I'll fudge a bit.
I've dinged off one star because some of the "Mack's Log" stories used to illustrate the science verge on the cheesy -- Neil Comins is, after all, an astronomer & science writer, not a storyteller. ;) But all else is good. This book is immensely readable, interestingly written, & is comprehensible to the intelligent non-scientist reader. I particularly recommend it to writers like me who might want to know a few things before they have their astronauts do something really stupid.
This is my review from partway through the book -- perhaps I'll write more later, after I've finished it. (I can't tell you how many pages I've read so far because I'm reading it out of order and in the Kindle for iPhone app, where there are no page numbers, must locations.)
Much to my surprise, as I read the chapter in this book about gravity, I discovered that I'd had Esti work so hard that she was well-equipped to deal with the high g-force for that brief duration -- what really messes her up: microgravity. From low Mars orbit to rendezvous with the cycler in which she'll travel to Earth, she gets sick as a... well, not as a dog, but rather as sick as over one-half of all astronauts & cosmonauts who've ever been to space. What sickens them is a condition called Space Adaptation Syndrome, which is caused by physiological changes due to the lack of the force of gravity that the species of Earth evolved under.
This discovery added whole new dimensions to Esti's experience in space, & her first days on the cycler. As if to underscore it, my digestive system on the day after Thanksgiving (but not because of Thanksgiving dinner: nobody else got sick -- had to be something else I ate) decided to channel Esti's digestive system. I.e., I felt pretty damn bad all that day, though fortunately I was not wearing a spacesuit helmet -- vomiting inside one, as Neil Comins points out, can be quite dangerous to one's health.
I got better, Esti got better, & the book has already proven invaluable as a research tool for my ongoing writing in my Cold/Long Dark story universe. I'm reading it all out of order, though. Right now I'm reading the stuff about radiation hazards in space. The radiation dangers are so extreme for long-term travel in space, that if I were to retain complete fidelity to science, I'd have to give up this story universe altogether. Therefore I will follow that tried & true method of all science fiction writers: I'll fudge a bit.
I've dinged off one star because some of the "Mack's Log" stories used to illustrate the science verge on the cheesy -- Neil Comins is, after all, an astronomer & science writer, not a storyteller. ;) But all else is good. This book is immensely readable, interestingly written, & is comprehensible to the intelligent non-scientist reader. I particularly recommend it to writers like me who might want to know a few things before they have their astronauts do something really stupid.
This is my review from partway through the book -- perhaps I'll write more later, after I've finished it. (I can't tell you how many pages I've read so far because I'm reading it out of order and in the Kindle for iPhone app, where there are no page numbers, must locations.)
December 18, 2017
The Hazards of Space Travel is a science based nonfiction book about everything that could go wrong in space, and what you should consider before heading to space. From weather hazards on other planets, radiation, medical hazards, and readapting to earth, it takes the reader on the ride through the unknown of space. Mack, a fictional character who’s logs are in the book to describe experiences that the author is explaining. This book supplies you with everything you need to know about dangers in space. The Hazards of Space Travel is a fascinating and wonderfully written book. Does it not only inform you about dangers in space, every time I turned the page some new and fascinating fact intrigued me to keep reading. Mack’s log is a wonderful addition to the book, making an easier understanding of what a person may experience and feel during fatal moments. Along with the fictional and fact base part, it’s hard to stop reading. Lastly, the real life pictures of problems that have happened make everything seem so much realer, and scarier. I believe anyone looking for an interesting and not so boring book about space will defiantly fall in love with the book quickly. Anyone who has a fascination in Space Travel most likely would have great time leading all the surprising facts in this book! The Hazards of Space Travel is a great, interesting, and surprising, well wrote, nonfiction book!
December 17, 2016
I picked this up for some casual, layman-level info for my various space opera novel projects. I'm terrified of space travel and this book has ensured that I will never go out of earth's orbit, but the info was fascinating. A lot of it isn't super useful to a scifi writer, since many of the problems enumerated would - presumably - be taken care of by the advancements of at least several centuries, if not significantly more. Still, it's good to know your setting. I knew there are a metric crap ton of things that could go wrong during a space flight, but I had no idea how wildly varied those problems are.
It's a fun way to get some basic info on space travel. Terrifying, absolutely, but still fun and extremely accessible. (Probably a lot has changed since 2007 when it was written, but still.)
It's a fun way to get some basic info on space travel. Terrifying, absolutely, but still fun and extremely accessible. (Probably a lot has changed since 2007 when it was written, but still.)
January 2, 2022
This is filled with a bunch of interesting facts. If you are writing about the beginning of mass space exploration and travel, this would be a really well written guide. It's not difficult to understand and the little inserts from the fictional future traveller are interesting and well-written.
February 19, 2019
This didn't work for me. I learned some useful things about space travel: its dangers, limits and trivia.
I didn't have very much fun doing it.
I didn't have very much fun doing it.
August 16, 2020
A really fun romp through space and atl the dangers that are littered through it from the lens of an astronaut from the future. Everything from getting hit with debris to being wiped out by pulsars.
March 28, 2014
Reading Strategy #1 - Preview
I previewed the book by reading the information on the back cover, and got a sense of what it was about from its title. The book also has photos of objects from space on the cover which gave clues to the possible content of the book. The subtitle “A Tourist’s Guide” suggests that space is a playground for travel and fun. After reading the cover, I skimmed the chapters inside the book and found various photos showing debris from space and astronauts. “Neverless for $20 million tourists can travel to it.” (Comins ix). This refers to travel to the Space Station, which there have been three privately paid for trips bought by citizens around the world.
Reading Strategy #2 - Use Prior Knowledge
I used my prior knowledge when the author talks about Asteroids, and comets. I already knew that they were bodies that travel around in space. I learned from the author that unlike the movies, the likelihood of an asteroid crashing into you while you are in space is very unlikely. Asteroids are 2 million miles apart in space. “You are in virtually no danger of unexpectedly encountering one” (Comins 119).
Reading Strategy #3 - Visualize
I used the visualize reading strategy to envision in my head the whole experience of space. Also
dust sticking to every surface. “In the process of walking or riding on the regolith, you will find yourself and your vehicle covered with it due to static electricity” (Comins 21). I imagine that when you touch any surface you create more static electricity and how it hurts to get shocked with small charges of static electricity.
Reading Strategy #4 - Connect
I connected with this book in many different ways. One way being when it talks about the dangers of radiation. I connect the best with when it talks about mutations and fixing damaged cells. I spent the last semester in biology learning all about cells and how they mutate. “In all living things, DNA and other molecules are regularly damaged.” (Comins 101). From what I learned in Biology radiation damages cells that divide often because they are most vulnerable.
Reading Strategy #5 - Set a Purpose
My purpose for reading this book was to learn more about what goes on in space. I was intrigued by the author’s ideas about how an ordinary person will possibly travel through space for recreation. The prospect of being able to travel to the moon, meteors, and craters would be an adventure that would be worth exploring. Despite the allure of space travel, there are many drawbacks to this type of adventure. “Your physical readaptation will commence the minute you land on Earth.” (Cummins 214) There are many physical and psychological effects from traveling in space that you wouldn’t normally have here on Earth.
I previewed the book by reading the information on the back cover, and got a sense of what it was about from its title. The book also has photos of objects from space on the cover which gave clues to the possible content of the book. The subtitle “A Tourist’s Guide” suggests that space is a playground for travel and fun. After reading the cover, I skimmed the chapters inside the book and found various photos showing debris from space and astronauts. “Neverless for $20 million tourists can travel to it.” (Comins ix). This refers to travel to the Space Station, which there have been three privately paid for trips bought by citizens around the world.
Reading Strategy #2 - Use Prior Knowledge
I used my prior knowledge when the author talks about Asteroids, and comets. I already knew that they were bodies that travel around in space. I learned from the author that unlike the movies, the likelihood of an asteroid crashing into you while you are in space is very unlikely. Asteroids are 2 million miles apart in space. “You are in virtually no danger of unexpectedly encountering one” (Comins 119).
Reading Strategy #3 - Visualize
I used the visualize reading strategy to envision in my head the whole experience of space. Also
dust sticking to every surface. “In the process of walking or riding on the regolith, you will find yourself and your vehicle covered with it due to static electricity” (Comins 21). I imagine that when you touch any surface you create more static electricity and how it hurts to get shocked with small charges of static electricity.
Reading Strategy #4 - Connect
I connected with this book in many different ways. One way being when it talks about the dangers of radiation. I connect the best with when it talks about mutations and fixing damaged cells. I spent the last semester in biology learning all about cells and how they mutate. “In all living things, DNA and other molecules are regularly damaged.” (Comins 101). From what I learned in Biology radiation damages cells that divide often because they are most vulnerable.
Reading Strategy #5 - Set a Purpose
My purpose for reading this book was to learn more about what goes on in space. I was intrigued by the author’s ideas about how an ordinary person will possibly travel through space for recreation. The prospect of being able to travel to the moon, meteors, and craters would be an adventure that would be worth exploring. Despite the allure of space travel, there are many drawbacks to this type of adventure. “Your physical readaptation will commence the minute you land on Earth.” (Cummins 214) There are many physical and psychological effects from traveling in space that you wouldn’t normally have here on Earth.
September 25, 2016
Very interesting.
January 21, 2008
At first, two warning signs almost made me put this book back on to the shelf of my LPL where I found it: 1) The author's degree (PhD) is listed after his name on the cover, and it has the disclaimer: "The Hazards of Space Travel is a work of nonfiction based on hard science." Those are usually dead giveaways that you're in for a real stinker.
Fortunately, this book was exactly the opposite - a detailed and thought provoking book that tries to tackle a subject that pretty much nobody has written about so comprehensively and in such detail. This book is pretty much exactly what its title says it is - all of the different hazards one will encounter as a tourist in space as we know it, bot as it's portrayed in science fiction. Sort of like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, only serious and based on humankind's experiences so far and what is known about space.
Sounds like a total snoozer, I know, but there were moments when I found the book in all of its seriousness to be as hilarious as the HHG2G itself. Also in there were some touching moments, human tragedy, and some terror. A lot of this had to do with the author's uniformly serious and objective tone and matter of factness. For example from the Intro: "Hazards exist virtually everywhere you will go off Earth: The atmospheres, solid surfaces, molten rock, and water on the worlds all present specific dangers: radiation damage and impacts from space debris will be daily fare; medical and psychological traumas will likely affect you or your fellow travelers; mechanical and electrical failures are apt to dog your ship and your equipment; and readapting to life on Earth will probably be a heart-wrenching experience."
A totally different form and imagining of space travel than I've read or thought about before. Sign me up!
Fortunately, this book was exactly the opposite - a detailed and thought provoking book that tries to tackle a subject that pretty much nobody has written about so comprehensively and in such detail. This book is pretty much exactly what its title says it is - all of the different hazards one will encounter as a tourist in space as we know it, bot as it's portrayed in science fiction. Sort of like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, only serious and based on humankind's experiences so far and what is known about space.
Sounds like a total snoozer, I know, but there were moments when I found the book in all of its seriousness to be as hilarious as the HHG2G itself. Also in there were some touching moments, human tragedy, and some terror. A lot of this had to do with the author's uniformly serious and objective tone and matter of factness. For example from the Intro: "Hazards exist virtually everywhere you will go off Earth: The atmospheres, solid surfaces, molten rock, and water on the worlds all present specific dangers: radiation damage and impacts from space debris will be daily fare; medical and psychological traumas will likely affect you or your fellow travelers; mechanical and electrical failures are apt to dog your ship and your equipment; and readapting to life on Earth will probably be a heart-wrenching experience."
A totally different form and imagining of space travel than I've read or thought about before. Sign me up!
September 28, 2013
A wonderful read for those who (like myself) are keenly interested in space exploration and would like to see humanity become a space faring species.
The science in this title is presented in such a way as to be palatable to the non-scientist, yet completely pertinent. The fictional log entries and anecdotes that start off each chapter are a welcome device for drawing the reader in, and giving the non-fictional science portions an emotional anchor.
If I had to present any criticism, it would be that the author didn't include the truly terrifying variety of violent cosmic events such as magnetars, black holes, gamma ray bursts, supernovae, and others of the planet, solar system, and thus spaceship killing ilk. For those who wish to cover all the known hazards, I recommend this book in tandem with Phil Plait's "Death from the Skies". Following that exercise, I would recommend some lighthearted fare. Perhaps some time spent with the family. Or the purchase of a puppy or kitten.
The science in this title is presented in such a way as to be palatable to the non-scientist, yet completely pertinent. The fictional log entries and anecdotes that start off each chapter are a welcome device for drawing the reader in, and giving the non-fictional science portions an emotional anchor.
If I had to present any criticism, it would be that the author didn't include the truly terrifying variety of violent cosmic events such as magnetars, black holes, gamma ray bursts, supernovae, and others of the planet, solar system, and thus spaceship killing ilk. For those who wish to cover all the known hazards, I recommend this book in tandem with Phil Plait's "Death from the Skies". Following that exercise, I would recommend some lighthearted fare. Perhaps some time spent with the family. Or the purchase of a puppy or kitten.
January 14, 2015
A great read. The author's lifelong enthusiasm is matched by the depth and thoroughness of his research into several fields, not only those familiar to him as an astronomer but others ranging from chemical engineering to psychology. He uses the device of alternating presentation of information with diary-like "log entries" by a fictitious future astronaut recounting anecdotes that vividly illustrate the ideas presented in that chapter or section. This would make a good supplementary textbook for high school and college science courses in the multiple fields covered. Strongly recommended.
August 30, 2016
"Prepare to be changed forever."
Very informative read. Wanted to know what I'm dealing with in space for a science fiction serial I'm writing. Comins covered most if not all of my questions. Namely, there is a lot we don't know, but he did point out what little we do know from people who've come back from space and some tragic accidents that have occurred. Fictional portions of the book were good too. The ending of that was a bit jarring though. Realities of space travel, perhaps?
That being said, let's please get some artificial gravity NASA!
Very informative read. Wanted to know what I'm dealing with in space for a science fiction serial I'm writing. Comins covered most if not all of my questions. Namely, there is a lot we don't know, but he did point out what little we do know from people who've come back from space and some tragic accidents that have occurred. Fictional portions of the book were good too. The ending of that was a bit jarring though. Realities of space travel, perhaps?
That being said, let's please get some artificial gravity NASA!
January 7, 2015
A solid book about the realities of space travel/surviving in space. It focuses on "tourists locations" in our solar system like the Jovian system, the astroid belt, Mars. There's lots of good information about the hazards and realities of surviving in space with technology that is not that far in the future. Good for writers who want to write near future science fiction that hews to reality somewhat.
December 23, 2010
A must read for anyone interested in space travel or near future science fiction. Thinking of taking a trip to Mars or the Asteroid belt? Comins details all the physical and emotional hazards that an interplanetary traveler can expect to face.
March 11, 2013
As I read the first chapter, I checked the front of the book three times at least to verify that this was, indeed, nonfiction. The fictional journal entries caught me off-guard. This book is a fun way to learn about space.
May 12, 2011
Informative, not too technical, stimulates thinking.
August 6, 2015
Though the conceit of a fictional astronaut's log was a bit twee, I enjoyed this book. It was clear and informational, and Comins delivers the science with just the right amount of self-awareness.
May 8, 2013
Space travel will kinda suck. end of story.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews