Is There Life in Outer Space? - (Marvelous But True) by Jan Leyssens (Hardcover)

About the Book

A non-fiction book about Astrobiologist Carl Sagan and his search for extraterrestrial life.

Book Synopsis

The third book in the non-fiction series Marvelous But True about scientific wonder, focussing on Astrobiologist Carl Sagan and his search for extraterrestrial life. Dreaming, daring, thinking, and doing. For researchers ages 6 years and up.

The Seventies. Astrobiologist Carl Sagan is looking for ways to get in contact with extraterrestrial life through Nasa's Voyager program. When NASA sends satellites to the back of the solar system -- and even further -- Carl takes his chance: he launches all kinds of sounds and images from planet Earth into space. He collected and sent 115 pictures and 55 sounds in the forms of greetings to see if there would be a response from extraterrestrial life. The satellites are still in space, collecting valuable data, and NASA predicts they can still make contact with them through the year 2025. How did he do that? And where are they going to end up? Is there life in outer space?

Review Quotes

"The third book in this series for me, and I think the best - although the 'How the Earth Moves' one was great, too. They all share a similar aesthetic, and text-wise they try to look at just one or two people from our science history who can show a basic tenet of the world. So one showed just a couple of people researching the bottom of the sea, the other a scientist who was pooh-poohed about plate tectonics. This book, then, gives us Carl Sagan, and the people who devised the gold laser disc-styled postcards that were sent out into space in the 1970s. It's equally about him and what he got put on the discs, as it is about the concept of alien life, and as a result the title, for all the lack of answer from the book, is a bit misleading. Still, with the design of the work - one grandly attractive artwork in full colour per spread, with one cartoon accompanying a single paragraph of text - we see a great library of similar books building. These can only be recommended for schools and other educators - I might not have taken to the undersea one so well, but I still think it worth considering the full set. A strong four stars." - The Book Bag

"This fun book explores the possibilities of life outside Earth, with answers based in science. It's a great book for curious minds and has fun illustrations to keep kids interested. " - Mile Long TBR

"Thank you for the opportunity to review this book. I loved this book! It is a beautifully designed and illustrated book for young readers educating on the science of space, specially the chance of life in space. It's a short, concise read with a theme of deep purples and blues giving the space vibe, with scientific drawings and a main character. I really thought this was a great book for kids!" - A Home Library

About the Author

Jan Leyssens (°1987) is a designer, dreamer and the father of two children whom he constantly bothers with - according to himself - interesting facts (and fabrications) about the world, the universe, and the human being as one of the most fascinating animals on our planet. When in September 2017 TEDxAntwerp asked him on stage, he chose not to talk about his profession as a designer and entrepreneur. Instead, he talked about the stories he tells his kids, not about knowing stuff, but about the drive to discover and learn new things. The reactions on the talk were so positive, he decided to write down the stories. Stories inspired by the curious way kids look at the world, and the part before knowledge becomes knowledge.