Space Exploration and the Future of Space Travel in Literature

HAL 9000 is the sentient computer that controls the Discovery One spacecraft in Arthur C. Clarke's novel '2001: A Space Odyssey'.

Terminus is the planet where the Second Foundation is headquartered in Isaac Asimov's 'Foundation' series.

Valentine Michael Smith is the name of the Martian who is raised by humans on Earth in Robert A. Heinlein's novel 'Stranger in a Strange Land'.

Gethen is the name of the planet where the Gethenians live in Ursula K. Le Guin's novel 'The Left Hand of Darkness'.

Ares Vallis is the name of the first permanent human settlement on Mars in Kim Stanley Robinson's novel 'Red Mars'.

Seveneves is the name of the space station that is built to save humanity after a catastrophic event in Neal Stephenson's novel 'Seveneves'.

Justice of Toren is the name of the starship that the protagonist, Breq, serves on in Ann Leckie's novel 'Ancillary Justice'.

The Trisolarans is the name of the alien civilization that threatens Earth in Liu Cixin's novel 'The Three-Body Problem'.

The Inhibitors is the name of the sentient machine race that seeks to destroy humanity in Alastair Reynolds' novel 'Revelation Space'.

The Wayfarer is the name of the spaceship that the crew of the Wayfarer travels on in Becky Chambers' novel 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet'.

The Portiids is the name of the sentient spider species that evolves on a distant planet in Adrian Tchaikovsky's novel 'Children of Time'.

The Pandora Star is the name of the alien artifact that is discovered in the solar system in Peter F. Hamilton's novel 'Pandora's Star'.

The Culture is the name of the Culture starship that the protagonist, Horza, serves on in Iain M. Banks' novel 'Consider Phlebas'.

The Tines is the name of the alien species that communicates through mathematics in Vernor Vinge's novel 'A Fire Upon the Deep'.

The Accelerando is the name of the posthuman civilization that emerges in the distant future in Charles Stross' novel 'Accelerando'.