WASHINGTON — It’s that time of year when the travel sections of bookstores are flooded with people pouring over the latest Frommer’s to plan their summer vacations.
The must-see museums in Madrid? There are guides for that. The best restaurants in Rome? Several maps on the shelves hold the answer.
But if you’re looking for a truly out-of-this-world journey, only one travel book will suffice. It’s called “Vacation Guide to the Solar System: Science for the Savvy Space Traveler,” and it details the must-do activities and can’t-miss destinations on the planets and their moons.
Olivia Koski, head of operations at Guerrilla Science, and Jana Grcevich, astronomer and science educator at the American Museum of Natural History, are the authors behind the new space travel publication. The idea for the book came shortly after Guerrilla Science launched its Intergalactic Travel Bureau, which hosts live, interactive space planning sessions for the public.
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While “Vacation Guide to the Solar System” errs on the side of fun and fantasy, the subject is no laughing matter. Koski and Grcevich include fascinating facts about the science of the solar system on every page.
They even consulted with astronomers, physicists and space lawyers to answer potential questions pertaining to planetary travel — including what it’d be like to ride a bike on Mars.
“It turns out that when you start asking questions like, ‘If you get mugged on the moon, what do you do?’ These are questions that haven’t quite been fully answered yet,” Grcevich said.
“But what’s fascinating is that a lot of people are thinking about them, even if that particular case hasn’t arisen yet,” Koski added.
Interested in an intergalactic holiday? Koski and Grcevich share some of their best tips for an expedition far away from Earth in the gallery above.
Olivia Koski and Jana Grcevich, authors of “Vacation Guide to the Solar System,” will be at D.C.’s East City Book Shop Wednesday, June 7 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
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