Ask an Astronaut: My Guide to Life in Space

It is amazing to consider that since 1961 when Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space that only 545 people have reached Earth's orbit. Tim Peake is one, having been on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015. His book Ask an Astronaut: My Guide to Life in Space is as close as most of us will get to knowing what it is like.

When Tom Wolfe wrote The Right Stuff, he was talking about the first American astronauts who had come up from the ranks of pilots. Today's astronauts need very specific skills, including being good at language, since being in the ISS requires knowing Russian.

"NASA astronaut and ISS commander Scott Kelly told me that it is only the first ten years of studying Russian that are difficult."

The most important trait needed to be an astronaut is character and drive. Mike Massimino also wrote about that in his memoir Spaceman.

Peake wrote this book to answer the questions people ask all the time about being space. Chapters include Launch, Training, Life and Work on the ISS, Spacewalking, Earth and Space, Return to Earth, and Looking to the Future. There are great illustrations, diagrams, and color photographs.

I can't imagine living in 'a tin can' for months. And yet this is what today's astronauts do. And sharing that space with other people.

Okay, perhaps I can imagine that but I really can't imagine spacewalking. Leaving the 'safe haven' of the ISS for a black vacuum where temperatures can go from frigid to boiling in minutes, unprotected from various flying space stuff. One wrong move and--well, watch the movie Gravity and skip the happy ending. Peake notes it is actually quite easy to fall off the space station. The danger is palpable.

All this while wearing adult 'nappies'.

But other things can go wrong, too. In 1965 a Soviet astronaut was in space when his suit ballooned and stiffened. His hands and feet slipped from their places, and the only thing he could do was depressurize his suit. He was suffering from decompression sickness when, with much struggling, he entered the airlock.

Peake was part of a team to repair the ISS solar panel, restoring its electric power. Being in space gave him "the sensation of being a microscopic spectator in an immeasurably vast universe. It was, at the same time, the most astonishing and humbling experience of my life."

This is a great book for inquisitive minds, from the young to us older folk who grew up with the Space Race.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

I don't always make it through books as sometimes my attention span is short. This book was both extremely interesting, but also formatted in such a way that if I only had 15 minutes to read I could just go through a few questions and answers.

I know so much more about the ISS, getting there, getting home, and all of the training to takes thanks to this book. I'm going to get it for my kids to see if they enjoy it as much as I did!

Book was written by answering most asked questions. It is interesting and informative for all readers.

I came across this in the library by accident, and I am glad that accidents do occur. My admiration for the men and women who undertake space exploration is profound. Their expertise and bravery shine through in Tim Peake's accounts of every stage of getting to and working on the ISS. The book is masterfully put together in a question and answer style that makes the difficult answers easy to read and understand. One of the many things I learned was how wonderful it is that mankind can work together with such professionalism and understanding in space, yet they cannot do so here on planet earth. The fragility and beauty of our planet are well outlined, giving the reader an inciteful understanding of how amazing our world really is. The world is fortunate to have people of such intelligence ready to risk their lives for mankind's future.