Really digging The Grand Tour series by Ben Bova

This unofficial series follows human progression into the solar system. Starting from putting a base on the moon and going all the way to discovering ancient alien ruins outside our solar system.

I think it's pretty neat how optimistic and diverse it is. There's a prominent Native American character. Fantastic!

Caveat, some women get thrown in fridges pretty suddenly and for seemingly no narrative reason. Not all women though, so kind of weird.