Only 650 people in human history have left Earth. Fifty years after an astronaut last walked on the moon, the journey is set to begin again. In 2025 the first woman will step on the lunar surface. What will separate these upcoming moonwalkers from the legendary Apollo crews? Does it still take a daring-do attitude, super-human fitness, intelligence, plus the 'Right-stuff' - a fabled grace under pressure? And how will astronauts travel even further - to Mars and beyond? Astronaut Tim Peake takes readers on a thrilling journey through the history of human space travel - and where we are headed to next. From Yuri Gagarin to Neil Armstrong, from the Shuttle crews to the teams on the ISS and at SpaceX, Peake traces the personal stories of the men and women who have forged the way. Full of human drama and astonishing detail only an astronaut would know, the book reveals what life in space is really like: the wondrous view, the surreal weightlessness, the extraordinary danger, the surprising humdrum, the humour, the newfound perspective, the psychological pressures, the gruelling physical toll, the thrill of launch and the trepidation of re-entry. The book also examines the surprising, shocking and often poignant stories of astronaut's lives back on earth, which are forever changed as they readjust to terra firma, emotionally, physically and in their family lives.
