Cities in the Sky and Homes on Mars: The Story of How We’ll Settle the Final Frontier for Teens

Humanity is standing on the edge of a new era—one where living on Earth might be just the beginning. Within your lifetime, people could be building cities on Mars, mining asteroids, and raising families in places where the sky is always black and Earth is just a distant blue dot. But venturing beyond our home world isn't just about rockets and high-tech gadgets—it's about who we become when the rules change, the air is man-made, and every mistake could mean the difference between survival and disaster. This book takes you deep into the past, present, and possible futures of space colonization, from the first daring missions to the challenges of creating entire societies off-world. You'll explore the science and engineering breakthroughs that make it possible, the political and ethical battles over who gets to decide our future, and the cultural shifts that could transform humanity forever. It's a journey that raises big questions: How do we protect alien worlds and any life they might hold? How do we avoid repeating the mistakes we've made on Earth? And how do we make sure space is a future for everyone—not just a few? The answers will define humanity's place in the cosmos.