"All the tales are set in the near future, and all are in some way about space and humanity's relation to it...

"The strength of the collection is that the best of the stories – and the standard is very high – are about the human condition...

"Standouts include Craig Pay's "Incarnate", a harrowing account of a mother and father's response to their cloned daughter's desire for suicide on Titan; "A Biosphere Ends" by Stephen Palmer, a complex and moving examination of ecological breakdown on a Martian colony; and Deborah Walker's poignant "Sea of Maternity", about the conflict between motherhood and scientific ambition on the moon. Superb." 

"Well, there is a sense of scientific rigour, there are no vast and wondrous extra-terrestrial civilisations, there are no ray guns and square-jawed heroes. And to cap it all, there are factual articles to give the book even more scientific credibility. ...

"But most importantly, there is humanity and heart...

"Each of these stories is set in a world of very convincing scientific advancement, and while that framework is extremely important and effective in painting each individual world, it is the people, the characters, that are the ultimate focus...

"The real winner here is the human spirit." 

Lois Tilton, Locus Online
"the tone of the stories is varied, from tragic to humor. What I find in many of them are refreshing twists and departures from the predictable and formulaic outcomes US authors so often deliver. The shift in point of view in this anthology is welcome, and fans of space exploration stories would do well to seek it out."

Ian Hunter, Interzone
"Scientists! Poindexters! Geeks! Rocket Science is a mighty fine collection... 

"I had also been mildly concerned that there might be a degree of backward-facing stubborn whimsy – by which I mean the kind of ‘man (and it was always a man) against the harsh alien environment’ stories you see in magazines like Analog. However, although the settings and set-ups could have gone that way – the perils of off-world environments feature strongly – the overall tone and issues explored belong in our century, not the last one, and this I applaud."

Paul F Cockburn gives an extensive review in The Zone
"Ian Sales is therefore to be praised for the much-more-difficult-than-you'd-think task of gathering together such an excellent range of stories."

"In such company, it seems somewhat invidious to highlight certain stories above the rest, but a few examples do demonstrate this anthology's admirable range: Sam S. Kepfield's collage of articles, interviews and memoirs exploring the history and consequences of the Soviet Union faking their first moon landing; Helen Jackson's succinct exploration of the limits of human bravery; Craig Pay's contemplation on the parental response to a cloned daughter's desire for suicide; and Stephen Palmer's heart-rending examination of the ecological breakdown of a Martian colony."

"it's fair to say that the common thread of the collection is the fragility of humanity"

And also a long review in Risingshadow:
"in this case "different" means "VERY GOOD", because Rocket Science contains several high quality stories"

"scientific accuracy and humanity meet each other with heartfelt passion in this anthology"

"without a doubt one of the best anthologies of 2012"