Destination: Space: Living on Other Planets
Destination: Space: Living on Other Planets
Although the idea of humans living in outer space seemed crazy not so long ago, that dream became a reality in 2000 when astronauts started living and working full-time on the International Space Station (ISS). Is your birthday after 2000? If it is, humans have been living in space for your entire life!
So what’s next? Can we go farther? Can we stay longer? In the years to come, humans will explore these questions and others. Can we live aboard new space stations orbiting other planets, or can we actually touch down and live on the surface of a planet like Mars? And what can space exploration teach those of us who are comfy and cozy right here on Earth?
Dr. Dave Williams and Loredana Cunti have continued their “Dr. Dave Astronaut” series with this book that explores the possibilities for living on other planets. This is the fourth book in the series. The authors look at what is required to sustain human life and then closely examine several possibilities for moons or planets where humans may one day live. They give details about why the location may, or may not, be considered and what it would be like to live there. They also give a brief overview of each planet in our solar system and the possibility of life on each.
Like the previous books, there is a mix of cute cartoon illustrations by Theo Krynauw, realistic illustrations of other planets, and photos of the subject matter. The photos are captioned, and the layout is easy to understand. There is a table of contents, a list for further reading, and an index. The sections are well-organized under headings and subheadings.
Destination Space: Living on Other Planets provides children with interesting information about possibilities for space exploration. As this is mostly hypothetical, there is not the same level of first-hand accounts from Dr. Dave throughout the book that added to reader interest in previous books in the series. Nonetheless, readers will enjoy dreaming of possibilities for the future of space exploration with a better understanding of the science behind life in space
Beth Wilcox Chng is a teacher-librarian in Prince George, British Columbia. She is a graduate of the Master of Arts in Children’s Literature program at the University of British Columbia