I’m looking to get inspiration for my own writing. I need a hard sci fi series where earth (and earthlike worlds) are too rare, inaccessible, and/or previously spoiled beyond ability to sustain life. Bonus points if it is set on a multi-generational space station or starship without any other options and goes into detail about life support, living space, mineral mining and expansion of the station to accomodate a growing population, and daily life of it’s residents.
If anyone remembers Drifter Colonies from Titan A.E., that’s what’s in my head.
I’m looking for The Martian levels of realism, and I’m fine with a bit of “Unobtanium” clichés if they’re not core to the story.
“The Dark Beyond the Stars” by Frank Robinson might fit for you. It’s set on a generation ship that can’t find a good landing spot.
“And all the stars a stage” (1971) by James Blish is another one where human-like aliens escape the destruction of their home world in 30 ships just to wander the galaxy looking for a new home, running into one disaster after another as their attempts to settle on various worlds end in failure and lives lost, until they happen upon a tiny, blue-green world with the most hospitable climate imaginable… with only one ship and a handful of survivors left.
It’s a poignant story of endlings, and the extinction of one species at the civilizational dawn of another.