Humans have been fascinated with space for centuries, staring up at the stars and creating stories about what might be out there. Imagining life on other planets gives readers a chance to escape, like to the outer rim of the solar system in 2001: A Space Odyssey or to the desert planet Arrakis in Dune.

Only relatively recently has our technology advanced enough that we can explore it for ourselves, giving an even more accurate picture of our tiny place in the vast universe. We now have answers to questions like what it’s like to live in space without gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, or privacy, like in Mary Roach’s Packing for Mars, or what it was like to be one of the first women to launch Americans into space in Rise of the Rocket Girls.

Whether you’re an astrophile, sci-fi reader or are curious about the eclipse headlines, explore the cosmos with these books that take place in space, available on the Libby app.

System Collapse by Martha Wells

A 2023 Libby Book Award winner!

Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back in the next installment in Martha Wells' award-winning Murderbot Diaries series, where she tackles questions of the ethics of sentient robotics.

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

What happens to you if you can’t walk for a year? Or if you vomit in your helmet during a space walk? Find out in this irresistibly strange universe of space travel and life without gravity. From the Space Shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA's new space capsule, Mary Roach takes us on the surreally entertaining trip into the science of life in space and space on Earth.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Winner of the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for Best Novella, this first in the groundbreaking trilogy introduces us to the story of one extraordinary girl's journey from her home to distant Oomza University.

Feed by M. T. Anderson

This YA sci-fi has arguably one of the best opening lines. Identity crises, consumerism, and star-crossed teenage love in a futuristic society where people connect to the Internet via feeds implanted in their brains. Winner of the LA Times Book Prize.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

You can’t have a list of space books without mentioning Andy Weir. In his most recent book from 2021, a lone astronaut must save the earth from disaster in this cinematic thriller full of suspense, humor, and fascinating science—currently in development as a major motion picture starring Ryan Gosling.

Reclaim the Stars by Zoraida Córdova

From stories that take you to the stars, to stories that span into other times and realms, to stories set in the magical now, Reclaim the Stars takes the Latin American diaspora to places fantastical and out of this world.

The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts by Loren Gush

This is the remarkable true story of America’s first women astronauts each making history going to orbit aboard NASA’s Space Shuttle. Acclaimed journalist Loren Grush shows these 6 brilliant and courageous women enduring claustrophobic—and sometimes deeply sexist—media attention, undergoing rigorous survival training and preparing for years to take multi-million-dollar payloads into orbit.

*Title availability may vary by library & region.

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