NASA Fiction Takes Flight With Tor/Forge Books

The genre of science fiction can spawn some spectacularly unscientific flights of fancy in the name of space travel. Thanks to a new collaboration with NASA, scifi publisher Tor/Forge Books is bringing its authors a little closer to astronomical reality.

According to their blog, a series of "NASA inspired Works of Fiction" will result from teaming up their authors with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Maryland.

The blog goes on to explain: "Authors will visit GSFC for a two day workshop in November consisting of presentations, facility tours and one-on-one sessions with SMEs. NASA contributions to the project will also provide access to their data, facilities, and educational design and evaluation experts."

However, there is no guarantee that working with writers will result in factually sound science. Earlier this year, NASA criticized a number of science-fiction movies for being "absurd" - including Armageddon, a movie on which the agency itself had collaborated.