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The Spacefarer's Handbook

Science and Life Beyond Earth

  • Book
  • © 2020

Overview

  • Serves as a practical guide to spaceflight
  • Full of anecdotes and tips for those planning their own space adventure
  • Brings loads of new knowledge on what spacefarers encounter in weightlessness
  • Features the latest scientific findings on humans in space and space technology
  • Written for the general space enthusiast, but will also give science fiction readers & writers a better foundation in space flight

Part of the book series: Springer Praxis Books (PRAXIS)

Part of the book sub series: Space Exploration (SPACEE)

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Table of contents (6 chapters)

Keywords

About this book

Now is the time to fly to space! New technological developments, commercialisation of spaceflight and advances in space medicine have made human space travel more attainable than ever before.
This entertaining but nevertheless authoritative book gives a practical introduction to space travel from a number of viewpoints: How spacecraft are built, how to steer and navigate them, instructions for a comfortable everyday life in space and a guide to remain healthy and strong in weightlessness.

The Spacefarer's Handbook is full of advice, tips and anecdotes to prepare the reader for their own trip to space. At the same time, it does not lose the scientific perspective on spaceflight. The authors, a physicist and a space medicine specialist, explain the underlying concepts rigorously and include recent research findings. From the operating principles of rocket engines, via bone loss in weightlessness to the methane lakes of Titan, this book contains everything aspiring spacefarers need to know! It also serves as a very good resource, beyond general space enthusiasts, for science fiction readers & writers who are looking for a better foundation in space flight.


"Highly recommended for everyone who wants to fly to space and all passengers of our mothership Earth!"
Hans Schlegel, ESA Astronaut


Reviews

“This book is intended as a general introduction to space travel for anyone contemplating such an adventure. Each chapter provides a general summary of the main topics that any non-professional astronaut might want to learn more about. … this is a well-written, useful — and sometimes light-hearted — introduction for anyone who wants to know more about humanity’s efforts to leave planet Earth.” (Peter Bond, The Observatory, Vol. 141 (1284), October, 2021)

“Their book is presented in a breezy, refreshing style, and is an acceptable read even for knowledgeable people. … The book also has some interesting anecdotes.” (‪John Silvester, Spaceflight, Vol. 63, August, 2021)

“If you have a question about going into space, and surviving once you’re there, then this book needs to be on your shelf as soon as possible.” (Stuart Atkinson, Popular Astronomy, popastro.com, July-August 2021)

“I can’t remember when a book exceeded my expectations quite as much as this one did. … the book has an affordable, far from academic-level price tag – so it’s highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the finer points of human spaceflight.” (Popular Science, popsciencebooks.blogspot.com, May 5, 2021)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK

    Bergita Ganse

  • University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Urs Ganse

About the authors

PD Dr. Bergita Ganse is an Orthopaedic Surgeon and a Physiologist with a research focus on Space Medicine and the musculoskeletal system in spaceflight. She has received her Dr. med. from Lübeck University and her habilitation (postdoctoral thesis) from RWTH Aachen University in Germany. Bergita is currently a Research Fellow at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). She is a co-investigator of an ISS experiment and involved in large international studies working with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Dr. Urs Ganse is a Theoretical Space Physicist, with a research focus on plasma simulations. After studying physics and obtaining his doctorate from the University of Würzburg, Germany, on the subject of solar radio bursts, he has worked as a postdoc in Finland and South Africa, with research funding from DFG, ESA and the Academy of Finland. In his current position as a University Researcher at the University of Helsinki, he uses supercomputers to model the near-Earth plasma environment and its interactions with Earth's magnetic field.

Bibliographic Information

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