An injured man lays on a long stretch of sand looking up at the stars; his mind races back to previous injuries and illnesses, but he can't seem to get a grip on where he is or why he's there. He soon realizes that he's a long way from home, in outer space.

A thirteen-year-old space fanatic's day is made when he meets his astronaut role model, but he soon learns that his hero is not who he thought.

When astronauts begin mysteriously falling to Earth, an aging couple forms a strong connection with the one who lands in their backyard.

After a devastating accident in space, a young astronaut constantly underwhelmed by her own achievements is forced to make a long, arduous trek back to her ship while dragging the corpse of her more impressive partner.

In the far future, a Welsh woman temporarily moves to a space colony on a distant planet with her husband, Owen. The woman regals her space-born daughter with tales of the wonders of Earth, and her daughter develops a great longing for Earth that eventually puts her life at risk.

In the near future, a young mother leaves behind a book for her daughter before she embarks on her space journey to the outer solar system in an attempt to communicate with extraterrestrial creatures. Sections from her book are interspersed with her husband's verbal recollections of their love story, which he addresses to their young daughter.

Online, space ship storytellers discuss why they tell stories for a living—and how to do it right.

All across the contemporary world, space whales are falling from the sky. They seem to be trying to deliver a message to the Earth — but as an American grassroots movement attempts to communicate with these creatures, it will face challenges from the government as well as the possible dangers of interacting with these interstellar beings.

An aging man is taking care of his dementia-effected wife when his long-absent son—who has transformed into a silver-skinned, red-eyed creature—returns to Earth from his job as an outer space exobiologist.

While recovering from a serious illness, a ninety-year-old scientist wades through his patchy memory, piecing together fragments of images and emotions from his childhood as an immigrant in the once-moving American 1940s. He thinks about his admiration for airplanes, which have been outlawed in this alternate history. He considers how such scientific advancements can also bring about great destruction.