Author(s): Michael Soluri

Science

Michael Soluri has been photographing the people and places of space exploration for more than fifteen years. With the support of Discovermagazine, NASA, and the astronaut crew, he was able to gain unfettered access to the multiple worlds of the historic, one-of-a-kind shuttle mission that saved the Hubble Space Telescope. His friendship with the crew grew out of a chance meeting with Mike Massimino, one of the seven astronauts selected to save the Hubble. Intrigued by the possibilities, Soluri asked Massimino: "What is the quality of light reallylike in space?" While astronauts take photos in space all the time, Soluri was asking them to see their photography-and their mission-the way an artist does: as expressions of human curiosity and ambition, and the infinite worlds to which humankind aspires. Infinite Worlds is an exclusive and unscripted photographic documentary inside the world of three NASA flight centres in Maryland, Texas, and Florida. With the closing of the shuttle program, this is the first and last book of its kind. With more than 300 gorgeous full-colour photographs and fifteen essays, it will appeal not only to the space history buff, but also to the armchair traveller, and families wanting an insightful and beautiful keepsake of the space shuttle era.