How to Live in Space

by Colin Stuart

An amusing and informative illustrated guide to life beyond our own planet that covers everything from training for and living in space to the future of space travel and tourism

Now that suborbital space tourism is predicted to become a billion-dollar industry in the next ten years and NASA has announced its plans for landing humans on Mars in the 2030s, the dream of traveling and living in space is taking on new reality. But given that life on Earth can be complicated enough, how can we survive and thrive in the zero-gravity, absolute-zero far reaches of space? Look no further: How to Live in Space is chock-full of all the essential information you need to equip yourself for life beyond our blue planet.

Grounded in space science, planetary biology, and rocket science, this accessible guide propels readers through takeoff, life in orbit, terraforming, and the long-term effects of space on the human body. Infographics and full-color illustrations help How to Live in Space to answer your burning questions, including: How do you sleep in microgravity? How do you grow food without water? Will your muscles waste away out there? How do you protect yourself from radiation? This is a light-hearted yet informative guide to a life far from terra firma.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Space, Astronomy

Hardcover

Published January 1, 2018

About the author

Colin Stuart is a renowned astronomy speaker and best-selling author. He was a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a 2014 runner-up for the European Astronomy Journalism Prize. He lives in London.

Reviews

[Tereza Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a space freak like myself? A perfect break from all those long serious books. Loved it 🪐

[Kevin Leung · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a fun tromp through space exploration history, current technology, and future potential. It doesn't require much prior knowledge from the reader, and although it may not have the depth of other, more serious reads, I actually just appreciated having lots of pictures to contextualize the text. It is organized into short articles and is easy to pick up and put down.

[Anet V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5*/5
Tahle knížka byla krásná. To, jak autor uchopil celé téma.
Kniha byla velice přehledně členěna do různých Kapitol a podkapitol a hrozně mi tento styl vyhovoval. Množství obrázků bylo taky super.
Knížka je plná zajímavých a mnohdy vtipných obrázků, které vyprávějí celé příběhy.
Nejsem největší fanoušek vesmíru a moc informací si o něm cíleně nezajišťuji, ale to hle bylo plné zajímavých faktů a teorií. Všechno bylo vysvětleno přístupně a pochopitelně. Kniha vtipně (chvílemi bohužel i trochu nudně) popisuje hlavně každodenní život kosmonautů a co vše vás čeká, pokud se chcete do něčeho takového pustit.
Jediné, co mě chvílemi mrzelo bylo, že někdy bylo informací v tom malém odstavečku až moc a zorientovat se a pochopit všechny informace bylo fakt složité. Budu si některé části muset přečíst někdy v budoucnu znovu a najít v tom další rady na život ve vesmíru.
Chvílemi to bylo bohužel i málo čtivé a do čtení jsem se částečně musela nutit.
Co ale musím vyzdvihnout je závěr od autora. Je tam popsáno spoustu důležitých myšlenek a to, o co bychom se měli zajímat, když plánujeme jako lidstvo vytvářet dějiny ve vesmíru a objevovat jeho skryté kouty.

All in all knihu doporučuji, pokud vás, alespoň trochu zajímá, jak se žije (bude žít) ve vesmíru.

[Amy Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am no space buff, and I picked it up because it looked like it was made for a common reader to pick up without any prior knowledge. I found it easy to understand, and liked that he explained the basics in a way that did not create a barrier to the excitement that is space travel and human survival in space. Even though I do not know much about the subject, some topics were familiar, so some sections will be full of information that space enthusiasts will definitely be aware of or know inside and out already; luckily, this book is really easy to skip around to other sections.

Although I mainly borrowed it from my library just to pass time with some decent illustrations and space photos (I love slipping in "space" into anything involving space; it makes anything normal a little more extraordinary in a snap, e.g. space breakfast.), I think it was worth a read if you have a passing interest in the final frontier that is begging us humans to step up to the challenge.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over 1300 individuals have been to space.
Astronauts have to have 20 20 eyesight, be between 5 ft 2 in and 6 ft 3 in tall. They must be able to swim 75 meters without stopping and tread water for 10 minutes wearing a space suit.

Foods eaten during space travel are solids or liquids. No powders or crumb producing that might travel into an astronauts eyes or settle on the equipment.

93 % of water on board is recycled. Yes, also from urine.

Effects of weightlessness can include: loss of smell and taste, eye problems, puffy face, loss of muscle mass, risk of kidney stones, fluid redistribution from legs to upper body.

With no need to support your head and your body against gravity, astronauts sleep vertically.

To this day, there are 96 bags of human waste on the moon.

To travel to the next star after the sun, it would take 8 years traveling at the speed of light.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating and informative step-by-step guide on how to become and be an astronaut, from entry qualifications, to rocketing off this planet, to pooping to space, to space walks, as well as the full and amazing history of people going into space, as well as a look throughout on what might be just around the corner in the field of exploring the world outside our world.

[Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had already read Scott Kelly's book and other books about space so the first 150 pages were more review than new information. When the book started going into the near future and possible long term future it was more interesting. I did enjoy the pictures and graphs.

[Richard Gombert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good quick overview. Some nice illustrations.

[Hillary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typos.