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Exploring Space: From Galileo to the Mars Rover and Beyond
Launch into a truly out-of-this-world examination of the past, present, and future of humans in space.
For centuries, humans have looked up at the night sky and wondered what it s like deep in space, far from Earth and now we ve begun to find out. We ve landed on the moon, put robots on Mars, and sent space probes billions of miles to explore the far reaches of our solar system. Told in richly detailed cutaway illustrations by Stephen Biesty and friendly, engaging writing by Martin Jenkins, here is the enthralling story of how we made the great leap into space and what we ve discovered there. Find out what life is like on the International Space Station, what the chances are that we will ever settle on Mars, where in the solar system we might find alien life, and why visiting other stars will almost certainly remain a dream. Budding astronomers, junior astronauts, and anyone who has ever gazed up at the stars in fascination will pore over this beautifully intricate yet accessible glimpse of the infinite wonders of space."
For centuries, humans have looked up at the night sky and wondered what it s like deep in space, far from Earth and now we ve begun to find out. We ve landed on the moon, put robots on Mars, and sent space probes billions of miles to explore the far reaches of our solar system. Told in richly detailed cutaway illustrations by Stephen Biesty and friendly, engaging writing by Martin Jenkins, here is the enthralling story of how we made the great leap into space and what we ve discovered there. Find out what life is like on the International Space Station, what the chances are that we will ever settle on Mars, where in the solar system we might find alien life, and why visiting other stars will almost certainly remain a dream. Budding astronomers, junior astronauts, and anyone who has ever gazed up at the stars in fascination will pore over this beautifully intricate yet accessible glimpse of the infinite wonders of space."
64 pages, Hardcover
First published February 2, 2017
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109 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 12, 2019
Book Reviewed by Stacey on
Exploring Space: From Galileo to the Mars Rover and Beyond, is a children’s non-fiction book all about space and objects in space, travelling to space, telescopes on earth, planets, etc.
The book is split into eight sections:
� The Solar System and Beyond
� Looking at the Sky
� Getting into Space
� Coming Back to Earth
� Surviving in Space
� Is There Anybody Out There?
� Crowded Skies
� Where Do We Go From Here?
At the back there is also a glossary of terms and a timeline too, this stops at 2015.
The book is very thorough and covers lots of information about space. Some of the information takes a few reads for it to sink in, or it did with me but then I’m not very good when it comes to science subjects as I normally just zone out.
There was some information in the book that I had never heard of before, even right from the beginning when the author talks about a space rocket being launched on Monday 5th September 1977 (before I was born). It wasn’t manned, or carrying animals. It was a mission to take pictures of Jupiter and Saturn, it was then left to go into outer space � way beyond the heliopause into a region called Opik-Oort Cloud.
Its name was Voyager 1. There was a second rocket called Voyager 2 which actually was sent into space earlier and the job of that one was to take pictures of four planets � Neptune, Jupiter, Uranus and Saturn.
Voyager 1 is still sending back data (correct at time of print of book). It also contains information for any life it might find out in space to let them know about Earth. I’d heard of Voyager 1 but I couldn’t of ever told you information about it or that it was still travelling. The scientist estimate it’s batteries will run out in 2025.
This is just a small snippet of information from one section of the book. The whole book is intriguing and informative. If you have children who have a love for space or are even studying it then this is an amazing book for them to read. It would even be an interesting book for an adult that wants to learn too.
Throughout there are illustrations by Stephen Biesty. Some are just images, others are diagrams to help you understand the information better. I loved reading it and found a whole host of space knowledge that I never knew.
Exploring Space: From Galileo to the Mars Rover and Beyond, is a children’s non-fiction book all about space and objects in space, travelling to space, telescopes on earth, planets, etc.
The book is split into eight sections:
� The Solar System and Beyond
� Looking at the Sky
� Getting into Space
� Coming Back to Earth
� Surviving in Space
� Is There Anybody Out There?
� Crowded Skies
� Where Do We Go From Here?
At the back there is also a glossary of terms and a timeline too, this stops at 2015.
The book is very thorough and covers lots of information about space. Some of the information takes a few reads for it to sink in, or it did with me but then I’m not very good when it comes to science subjects as I normally just zone out.
There was some information in the book that I had never heard of before, even right from the beginning when the author talks about a space rocket being launched on Monday 5th September 1977 (before I was born). It wasn’t manned, or carrying animals. It was a mission to take pictures of Jupiter and Saturn, it was then left to go into outer space � way beyond the heliopause into a region called Opik-Oort Cloud.
Its name was Voyager 1. There was a second rocket called Voyager 2 which actually was sent into space earlier and the job of that one was to take pictures of four planets � Neptune, Jupiter, Uranus and Saturn.
Voyager 1 is still sending back data (correct at time of print of book). It also contains information for any life it might find out in space to let them know about Earth. I’d heard of Voyager 1 but I couldn’t of ever told you information about it or that it was still travelling. The scientist estimate it’s batteries will run out in 2025.
This is just a small snippet of information from one section of the book. The whole book is intriguing and informative. If you have children who have a love for space or are even studying it then this is an amazing book for them to read. It would even be an interesting book for an adult that wants to learn too.
Throughout there are illustrations by Stephen Biesty. Some are just images, others are diagrams to help you understand the information better. I loved reading it and found a whole host of space knowledge that I never knew.
Read
March 22, 2017Review to come.
August 31, 2019
This is such an interesting book I really enjoyed reading it! ‘Exploring Space: From Galileo to the Mars Rover and Beyond� is around A4 in size, although wider, and is filled with thick glossy pages of both text and some illustrations. The illustrations are more like diagrams but are all fascinating to look at and really helps keep your interest in reading the book.
As the name suggests, this book is all about the past, present and future of space exploration. It begins in the past by telling us about the ancient people who dicovered the Earth evolved around the Sun rather than the other way around and explains the ways in which human knowledge of space has continued to improve over the years. It then goes into more detail about the increasing interest in space and the space race which led to the moon landing all the way to the modern age and what new discoveries we are making to this day. There’s also a section on what the future could hold with colonies on Mars or a space elevator!
I like the way in which this book is set out and how easy it is to read and take in all the information. There is an introduction which explains a bit about the space around our planet and our solar system in the universe and all the information is explained with some briliant and quite detailed illustrations. The information is broken down into chapters which aren’t very long and are all very interesting to read. Although there can be a lot of text per page, there is never more than just one page filled with text while the other will have an illustration or diagram. This really helps break down the passages of text and there’s always something interesting to look at.
The illustrations really make it easier to understand the information you are given and I love how detailed they are. They often span two pages or the whole page and if something is a bit difficult to grasp such as how the Mars rover works, then it is all explained with arrows pointing out the different parts and step-by-step information on what happens. There are illustrations of so many things, from simpler ones like the orbits of satalittes around our planet, to more detailed ones like an illustration/diagram of the International Space Station, an astronauts space suit, etc. Each of these illustrations is not only clear but also colourful and as I’ve already said, it just makes the whole book all the more easy and fun to read. I also love the added details such as people and cars in some images!
At the end of the book there is a glossary of many of the terms and words used which is helpful if you don’t understand everything. There is also a timeline of all the discoveries and various milestones in space exploration. Most of these have been mentioned in the book but it’s good to see it all arranged in a timeline, which ends at 2020.
I have to say that after reading this book, even as an adult, I feel so much more interested in all things space related than I ever did before! It’s not only a well written book but without the illustrations I don’t think I would have enjoyed this as much as I have. I’ve also learned some fascinating things such as the potential of life on other planets (it’s especially interesting to think what could be on one of Saturn’s moons!). I’d definitely recommend this to all children and in fact anyone of age! It’s a great book for introducing an interest in space and it could begin a lifelong fascination too!
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy for review.
As the name suggests, this book is all about the past, present and future of space exploration. It begins in the past by telling us about the ancient people who dicovered the Earth evolved around the Sun rather than the other way around and explains the ways in which human knowledge of space has continued to improve over the years. It then goes into more detail about the increasing interest in space and the space race which led to the moon landing all the way to the modern age and what new discoveries we are making to this day. There’s also a section on what the future could hold with colonies on Mars or a space elevator!
I like the way in which this book is set out and how easy it is to read and take in all the information. There is an introduction which explains a bit about the space around our planet and our solar system in the universe and all the information is explained with some briliant and quite detailed illustrations. The information is broken down into chapters which aren’t very long and are all very interesting to read. Although there can be a lot of text per page, there is never more than just one page filled with text while the other will have an illustration or diagram. This really helps break down the passages of text and there’s always something interesting to look at.
The illustrations really make it easier to understand the information you are given and I love how detailed they are. They often span two pages or the whole page and if something is a bit difficult to grasp such as how the Mars rover works, then it is all explained with arrows pointing out the different parts and step-by-step information on what happens. There are illustrations of so many things, from simpler ones like the orbits of satalittes around our planet, to more detailed ones like an illustration/diagram of the International Space Station, an astronauts space suit, etc. Each of these illustrations is not only clear but also colourful and as I’ve already said, it just makes the whole book all the more easy and fun to read. I also love the added details such as people and cars in some images!
At the end of the book there is a glossary of many of the terms and words used which is helpful if you don’t understand everything. There is also a timeline of all the discoveries and various milestones in space exploration. Most of these have been mentioned in the book but it’s good to see it all arranged in a timeline, which ends at 2020.
I have to say that after reading this book, even as an adult, I feel so much more interested in all things space related than I ever did before! It’s not only a well written book but without the illustrations I don’t think I would have enjoyed this as much as I have. I’ve also learned some fascinating things such as the potential of life on other planets (it’s especially interesting to think what could be on one of Saturn’s moons!). I’d definitely recommend this to all children and in fact anyone of age! It’s a great book for introducing an interest in space and it could begin a lifelong fascination too!
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy for review.
September 9, 2021
This book breaks down different explorations of space in extreme detail. It includes illustrations of different spacecrafts. It even includes an example of what life on mars could look like. In the end, it emphasizes the importance and beauty of our world. This book was not the most intriguing to me because I am not science minded. However, if you were, I can see how appealing this book would be to you. It was very informative without being boring.
This is a book I will definitely keep in my classroom library. There will be students in my class who will love space and everything to do with it, and this is a great book to have on hand for them. It is important to have books in your classroom that your students will like even if they are not your favorite. This is one of those books for me.
This is a book I will definitely keep in my classroom library. There will be students in my class who will love space and everything to do with it, and this is a great book to have on hand for them. It is important to have books in your classroom that your students will like even if they are not your favorite. This is one of those books for me.
December 2, 2021
This is a very interesting book that describes different space explorations. I really enjoyed the detailed illustrations and storyline. I do think that this book could be a great read-aloud for classrooms to teach them more about space and spacecrafts, but this genre is not one I would typically choose. Overall, very informative and could be a great addition to a classroom library.
June 22, 2017
This book provides a great jumping off place for anyone already captivated by space exploration. It is also a must have for any classroom studying space, Galileo, technology, or the planets.
January 31, 2018
In both text and illustrations, great overview of space exploration by humans, just as the title suggests. And it's not just for kids!
July 12, 2019
This a technical book for kids who are interested in rockets, rovers and shuttles and how they work in space. There are great illustrations, charts and descriptions of the technology. Very good book
March 3, 2024
This book was super good!! With detailed diagrams and interesting news, this book will wash away all your questions.
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December 14, 2017Top Ten Sci-Tech Books for Youth 2017 (Booklist)
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