A Traveler's Guide to the Stars

Written by Les Johnson

Narrated by Michael Page

With known exoplanets now numbering in the thousands and initiatives like 100 Year Starship and Breakthrough Starshot advancing the idea of interstellar travel, the age-old dream of venturing forth into the cosmos and perhaps even colonizing distant worlds may one day become a reality. A Traveler's Guide to the Stars reveals how.

Les Johnson takes you on a thrilling tour of the physics and technologies that may enable us to reach the stars. He discusses the latest exoplanet discoveries, promising interstellar missions on the not-so-distant horizon, and exciting new developments in space propulsion, power, robotics, communications, and more. But interstellar travel will not be easy, and it is not for the faint of heart. Johnson describes the harsh and forbidding expanse of space that awaits us, and he addresses the daunting challenges-both human and technological-that we will need to overcome in order to realize tomorrow's possibilities.

A Traveler's Guide to the Stars is your passport to the next great frontier of human discovery, providing a rare inside look at the remarkable breakthroughs in science and technology that will help tomorrow's space travelers chart a course for the stars.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Oct 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9798765068045

Les Johnson

Les Johnson is a physicist and NASA technologist at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center where he is the Principal Investigator for two NASA missions: Near-Earth Asteroid Scout (to launch in 2021) and Solar Cruiser. He is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics, National Space Society, The British Interplanetary Society, and MENSA. While at NASA, Les managed the Interstellar Propulsion Research Project, the $200M In-Space Propulsion Technology Program, and the NASA MSFC Science Programs & Projects Office. He was the co-investigator on the Japanese-led T-Rex space tether experiment that flew in August 2010, the Principal Investigator for the NASA ProSEDS space experiment, received NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Medal three times, and holds 3 space technology patents. His book, Solar Sails, a Novel Approach to Interplanetary Travel was favorably reviewed in the journal Nature (10 April 2008). Graphene: The Superstrong, Superthin, and Superversatile Material That Will Revolutionize the World also appeared in Nature (25 January 2018) and was excerpted in American Scientist (May-June 2018).