Les Johnson - Visions of the Future



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Les Johnson





Les Johnson is a physicist, author, and NASA technologist. He is an elected member of the International Academy of Astronautics, a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society and a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, co-founder of the Interstellar Research Group, and a member of MENSA.


Publisher’s Weekly noted that “The spirit of Arthur C. Clarke and his contemporaries is alive and well…” when describing Les’s novel, Mission to Methone. His non- fiction book, A Traveler's Guide to the Stars (Princeton University Press) was positively reviewed in Scientific American, Wired, The Wall Street Journal, Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, and others. The book is now available in 7 languages.


In his day job, Les is the Chief Technologist at the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. During his career at NASA, Les served as the Manager for the Space Science Programs and Projects Office, the In-Space Propulsion Technology Project, and the Interstellar Propulsion Research Project.



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Keep an eye out for these upcoming releases!



COMING NOVEMBER 2025 in Hardcover


Hugo Award winner Ben Bova and Les Johnson complete Bova's Outer Planets series (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto), a Grand Tour of the human settled solar system, with a final encounter on Pluto.


Major Larry Randall has been called to Pluto to retrieve Dr. Aaron Mikelson. Mikelson, no longer human after a horrific accident, is now melded to an AI. His enhanced senses have detected an alien artifact on Pluto’s surface, and he's not leaving without it.


Transferred to the research vessel studying Pluto, Randall and the other scientists are stumped as to the artifact's purpose and origin. Looking for similar signs of aliens they make their way to Pluto's moon, Charon, where, buried deep under its icy surface, something stirs—and wakes.


Against a backdrop of unknown alien technology and potential interplanetary war, Mikelson’s inhuman ego and obsession will risk humanity by calling something unknown to our solar system.


AVAILABLE NOW IN HARDCOVER
AVAILABLE OCT 28, 2025 PAPERBACK


First contact with the seemingly impossible human civilization at Proxima Centauri is not going well. The Earth ships sent to render aid have not been able to reverse the contagion ravaging their population and, worse, many Proximans are now wondering if the humans from Earth are there for other, not so charitable, reasons.


Can the extinction-level disaster faced at Proxima be reversed by the combined ingenuity of scientists from both worlds working together?


Unsettling discoveries in the Proxima Centauri planetary system beg the questions: What if the evil gods depicted in Proxima’s ancient mythologies were real and far more powerful than even the humans from Earth with their late 21st century technologies? Worse, what if their ancient oppressors never truly left?


Recent and upcoming releases





COMING NOVEMBER 2025 (Hardcover)


Hugo Award winner Ben Bova and Les Johnson complete Bova's Outer Planets series (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto), a Grand Tour of the human settled solar system, with a final encounter on Pluto.

Major Larry Randall is sent to retrieve Dr. Aaron Mikelson—now fused with an AI after a devastating accident—whose enhanced senses have detected an alien artifact on Pluto’s surface. Transferred to a research vessel, Randall and the crew struggle to uncover its purpose, only to discover signs of something even greater beneath Charon’s icy crust. Amid looming interplanetary conflict, Mikelson’s obsession may summon a force beyond humanity’s control.


NOW IN MASS MARKET PAPERBACK


Traveling to the stars will be difficult, but not, perhaps, the most difficult part. What about when we get to another star? What then? Will the planets be immediately habitable? Not likely. Will those who undertook the journey be able to easily turn around and come home if they don’t find “Earth 2.0?” Almost certainly not. Therein the lies the challenge: Finding worlds that are potentially habitable and then taking the time, perhaps centuries, to make them compatible with Earth life. They will encounter mysteries and unexpected challenges, but the human spirit will endure. Join this diverse group of science fiction writers and scientists as they take up the challenge of The Ross 248 Project.


AVAILABLE NOW IN HARDCOVER

AVAILABLE OCT 28, 2025 PAPERBACK


First contact with a human civilization at Proxima Centauri is unraveling. Earth’s aid missions have failed to stop the contagion devastating Proximan society—and suspicion grows that their true motives may be far from benevolent. As scientists from both worlds race to prevent extinction, disturbing evidence suggests Proxima’s ancient myths may be rooted in reality. What if the gods once feared were real—and still waiting in the shadows?


AVAILABLE NOW IN HARDCOVER, TRADE, E-BOOK, AND AUDIO.


With known exoplanets now numbering in the thousands and initiatives like 100 Year Starship and Breakthrough Starshot advancing the idea of interstellar travel, the age-old dream of venturing forth into the cosmos and perhaps even colonizing distant worlds may one day become a reality. A Traveler’s Guide to the Stars reveals how.


LES'S FIction BOOKS



LES'S NON-FIction BOOKS





www.lesjohnsonauthor.com