"Middle schoolers with stars in their eyes will gravitate toward this informative set that explores aspects of space from the physical to the theoretical. Familiar topics dedicated to astronauts and missions to Mars are included alongside less common ones, including space garbage, privatized space travel, and black holes. All the titles include up-to-date content as recent as 2016, making them fresh and relevant. Dynamic photographs and historical images complement the text and are supplemented with artists' renderings, diagrams, and charts. VERDICT A thoroughly researched and authoritative addition to science collections." (School Library Journal)

"Space is a perennially high-interest topic, and while there are plenty of series on the subject, these titles in the Space Discovery Guides series stand out from the crowd with plenty of up-to-date content, engaging layouts, and a lively tone. Astronauts covers notable space travelers, challenges facing people who visit space, and what astronauts can help researchers on Earth learn. With increased space exploration and satellite activity, space junk is a becoming a significant problem, and Garbage in Space highlights how space came to be filled with man-made debris, its effect on space travel, and current efforts to curb the problem. Mars Missions lays out the technical challenges of traveling to Mars, discoveries made by rovers in the past couple of decades, and projects currently in the works to eventually send humans to the red planet. Legislative changes have opened up the field of space travel innovation, and Private Space Travel offers an informative survey of key players, advancements made by private companies, and future of space tourism. Each title is packed with photos and diagrams, all of which are clearly labeled, but the real star is the fascinating, current information, which fills every page. Space-obsessed kids will find plenty to wonder over in these slim but meaty volumes." (Booklist, starred review)