Looking for the best Astronaut books? Browse our list to find excellent book recommendations on the subject.
1. An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything (2015)
“Hadfield is a genius, a man of science and technology and no first-timer to the universe.”-New York Post Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, and been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft. In his bestselling An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, Hadfield takes readers deep into his years of training and space exploration to show how to make the…
2. Astronaut Handbook (2017)
With an appealing text and funny, brightly colored illustrations, Meghan McCarthy transports aspiring space travelers to astronaut school in her young nonfiction picture book. Take a ride on the “Vomit Comet” and learn how it feels to be weightless. Try a bite of astronaut food, such as delicious freeze-dried ice cream. Have your measurements taken—100 of your hand alone—for your very own space suit. Get ready for liftoff! “McCarthy introduces the paraphernalia of rocket travel with a corollary, direct humor that understands and respects its audience.” —Booklist “This…
3. Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream (2009)
What does it take to be an astronaut? Excellence at flying, courage, intelligence, resistance to stress, top physical shape — any checklist would include these. But when America created NASA in 1958, there was another unspoken rule: you had to be a man. Here is the tale of thirteen women who proved that they were not only as tough as the toughest man but also brave enough to challenge the government. They were blocked by prejudice, jealousy, and the scrawled note of one of the most powerful men in Washington. But even though the Mercury 13 women did not make it into space, they did…
4. The Last Astronaut (2019)
Sally Jansen was NASA’s leading astronaut, until a mission to Mars ended in disaster. Haunted by her failure, she lives in quiet anonymity, convinced her days in space are over.She’s wrong. A large alien object has entered the solar system on a straight course toward Earth. It has made no attempt to communicate and is ignoring all incoming transmissions. Out of time and out of options, NASA turns to Jansen. For all the dangers of the mission, it’s the shot at redemption she always longed for. But as the object slowly begins to reveal its secrets, one thing becomes horribly clear: the future of…
5. I Want to Be an Astronaut (1992)
From picture-book master Byron Barton, this is the perfect story for young readers who love outer space and want to know more about how NASA astronauts do their job.Up into the sky goes the space shuttle! Once in orbit, the astronauts get a taste of ready-to-eat food, experience zero gravity, go for space walks, and even fix a satellite. It’s fun to fly aboard the shuttle…and then come back to earth.Supports the Common Core State Standards….
6. The Fated Sky: A Lady Astronaut Novel (2018)
Of course the noted Lady Astronaut Elma York would like to go, but there’s a lot riding on whoever the International Aerospace Coalition decides to send on this historic―but potentially very dangerous―mission? Could Elma really leave behind her husband and the chance to start a family to spend several years traveling to Mars? And with the Civil Rights movement taking hold all over Earth, will the astronaut pool ever be allowed to catch up, and will these brave men and women of all races be treated equitably when they get there? This gripping look at the real conflicts behind a fantastical space…
7. Goodnight Spaceman: The Perfect Bedtime Book! (Goodnight Series) (2017)
It’s time for bed, come on inside. We’ll keep the curtains opened wide And watch the starlight sparkling bright. Let’s make a wish and say goodnight. Goodnight shuttle, Goodnight base, Goodnight deepest, darkest space. Zooming through the Milky Way… Goodnight spaceman, far away. Blast off to dreamland with this charming book that’s destined to be your child’s favorite. Rocket across the stars and through the universe with these joyful illustrations and fun rhymes. It’s the perfect book for parents and toddlers to read together at bedtime, nap time, or…
8. My Journey to the Stars (Step into Reading) (2019)
A Step 3 Biography Reader of American hero, Astronaut Scott Kelly! Scott wasn’t sure what he wanted to be when he grew up. He struggled in school and often got in trouble with his twin brother, Mark. Then one day Scott discovered a book about test pilots and astronauts that set him on a new path.His new focus led him to fly higher and higher, becoming first a pilot and then an astronaut, along with his brother–the first twin astronauts in history. But his greatest accomplishment of all was commanding the International Space Station and spending nearly a year in space, which set the record for…
9. The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Story (2014)
As America’s Mercury Seven astronauts were launched on death-defying missions, television cameras focused on the brave smiles of their young wives. Overnight, these women were transformed from military spouses into American royalty. They had tea with Jackie Kennedy, appeared on the cover of Life magazine, and quickly grew into fashion icons.Annie Glenn, with her picture-perfect marriage, was the envy of the other wives; JFK made it clear that platinum-blonde Rene Carpenter was his favorite; and licensed pilot Trudy Cooper arrived with a secret that needed to stay hidden from NASA. Together with the other wives they formed the Astronaut…
10. To the Moon: An Autobiography of an Apollo Astronaut’s Daughter (2019)
To the Moon is an exciting and well-written autobiography by Rosemary Roosa, the daughter of Apollo 14 Astronaut, Stu Roosa. The introduction is by Apollo 16 Astronaut, Charlie Duke, and the book is endorsed by Apollo 13 Astronaut Fred Haise. To the Moon captures the essence of the space race days and then takes you on a journey to the moon and back. Rosemary Roosa describes her adventurous life with her parents and her career. To the Moon is a touching memoir of a child whose father ventured to another celestial body – the moon – and how that impacted her life. It is the first full-length book of its kind….
11. Endurance: My Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery (2018)
The veteran of four space flights and the American record holder for consecutive days spent in space, Scott Kelly has experienced things very few have. Now, he takes us inside a sphere utterly hostile to human life. He describes navigating the extreme challenges of long-term spaceflight—the devastating effects on the body, the isolation from everyone he loves and the comforts of Earth, the pressures of constant close cohabitation, and the catastrophic risks of depressurization or colliding with space junk. But perhaps the most haunting challenge is that of being unable to…
12. Astronaut Academy: Are You Ready for the Challenge? (2016)
This is a spaceflight activity book like no other! Through a series of fun and challenging tasks, kids will begin to understand the skills and training required to become an astronaut on a mission to Mars. There are “classes” for kids to attend as part of their training. These include Space Pilot, Space Living, Space Engineer, Space Scientist, and Space Gym. Each topic is explored in detail and accompanied by astronaut missions, including physical and mental challenges, as well as drawing and craft activities designed to mimic the skills involved in real-life training….
13. Space Heroes: Amazing Astronauts (DK Readers) (DK Readers Level 3) (2003)
Brave, bold, and daring—learn the amazing stories of the world’s greatest astronauts in this Level 3 DK Reader. Stunning photographs combine with lively illustrations and engaging, age-appropriate stories in DK Readers, a multilevel reading program guaranteed to capture children’s interest while developing their reading skills and general knowledge. With DK Readers, children will learn to read—then read to learn!…
14. Pete the Cat: Out of This World (2017)
Blast off into space with New York Times bestselling author and artists James Dean and everyone’s favorite cat-stronaut, Pete the Cat, in Pete the Cat: Out of This World. Includes over 30 fun stickers!When Pete heads off to space camp, he gets to float in zero gravity, build rockets, and even goes on an extraordinary interstellar mission that is out of this world—literally. Houston, ready to rock out with Pete the Cat!…
100 books based on 130 votes: An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield, A Man On the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew SCOTT KELLY. Scott Kelly is a former military fighter pilot and test pilot, an engineer, a retired astronaut, and a retired U.S. Navy captain. A veteran of four space flights, Kelly commanded the International Space Station (ISS) on three expeditions and was a member of the yearlong mission to the ISS. Have YOU got what it takes to be an astronaut? This book will help readers of all ages find out. Featuring 100 real astronaut tests and exercises from the European Space Agency’s rigorous selection process, ranging from easy to fiendishly hard, The Astronaut Selection Test Book goes where no puzzle book has gone before. There is some overlap between this list children’s books about astronauts and space travel and my list of children’s books about the moon, and you may want to check out both lists for books that your child will enjoy. Note: For more space-related activities, see my Space Unit Study page. Non-fiction books about astronauts and space travel
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Genesis and download some astronaut books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
Gemini 4: An Astronaut Steps into the Void
Author(s): David J. Shayler
Publisher: Springer, Year: 2019, Size: 25 Mb, Download: epub
ID: 2301186
Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys
Author(s): Michael Collins; Charles A. Lindbergh
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Year: 2019, Size: 42 Mb, Download: epub
ID: 2357281
Future Spacecraft Propulsion Systems and Integration: Enabling Technologies for Space Exploration
Author(s): Paul A. Czysz, Claudio Bruno, Bernd Chudoba
Publisher: Springer-Verlag, Year: 2018, Size: 27 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 2154500
Use of Extraterrestrial Resources for Human Space Missions to Moon or Mars
Author(s): Donald Rapp
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Year: 2018, Size: 4 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 2180135
It’s a Question of Space: An Ordinary Astronaut’s Answers to Sometimes Extraordinary Questions
Author(s): Clayton C. Anderson
Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr, Year: 2018, Size: 7 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 2237249
Space Radiation and Astronaut Safety
Author(s): Erik Seedhouse
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Year: 2018, Size: 8 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 2250397
Space Science and the Arab World: Astronauts, Observatories and Nationalism in the Middle East
Author(s): Jörg Matthias Determann
Publisher: I. B. Tauris, Year: 2018, Size: 7 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 2267959
Astronautics: The Physics of Space Flight
Author(s): Ulrich Walter
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG, Year: 2018, Size: 47 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 2332427
Infinite Wonder: An Astronaut’s Photographs from a Year in Space
Author(s): Scott Kelly
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, Year: 2018, Size: 563 Mb, Download: epub
ID: 2337028
Please note that this booklist is not definite. Some books are really best-sellers according to Washington Post, others are written by unknown writers. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant books you could recommend? Drop a comment if you have any feedback on the list.