Launched in 1977, the twin Voyager probes are true explorers. Among the earliest spacecraft to visit the neighbourhoods of Jupiter and Saturn, they will soon exit the Solar System and witness interstellar space. Environmental historian Stephen Pyne sets these missions within the wider arc of human exploration in Voyager (Viking, 2010). He examines the origins of the planetary exploration programme in cold war politics, and looks to modern frontiers of discovery, such as journeys to the ocean floor or beneath Antarctica's ice sheets.

Pythagoras held that the Universe is rational, and that there is order and unity to all things. In Pythagoras (Icon, 2010), science writer Kitty Ferguson pieces together the life story of the ancient Greek philosopher and his followers. She asks how his interest in mathematics arose and how his convictions developed. She unravels how Pythagoras's influence has spread across the ages, to underpin the work of great scientists such as Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler and Isaac Newton, together with modern figures such as Stephen Hawking.

Mathematics fills some people with fear. In The Calculus Diaries (Penguin, 2010), science writer Jennifer Ouellette makes maths palatable using a mix of humour, anecdote and enticing facts. She describes how she overcame her own phobia of numbers and how maths forms the basis of modern life. Using everyday examples, such as petrol mileage and fairground rides, Ouellette makes even complex ideas such as calculus and probability appealing.