Seveneves characters

Also known as Doob

Appears from the start

An astronomer and popular science communicator who becomes a leading public interpreter of the lunar disaster. He helps calculate what the expanding debris cloud will mean for Earth and explains the forecast in terms a frightened public can understand.

Appears from the start

A robotics specialist working on the International Space Station. Resourceful, technically gifted, and comfortable outside the station, she operates small robots used for construction and becomes central to the effort to turn the orbital facilities into a refuge.

Appears from the start

The commander of the International Space Station when the lunar catastrophe begins. A disciplined American astronaut of Chinese heritage, she must preserve cooperation aboard the station while governments race to enlarge it into humanity's orbital sanctuary.

First appears in chapter 2

A geneticist chosen to preserve and manage humanity's biological inheritance in orbit. She oversees genetic samples and reproductive planning, approaching survival as both a scientific and ethical problem.

Also known as Tekla

First appears in chapter 2

A renowned Russian cosmonaut and veteran of orbital operations. Exceptionally strong and direct, she becomes one of the most capable members of the expanded station community and is relied upon in dangerous physical work.

Also known as J.B.F.

First appears in chapter 2

The President of the United States during the emergency. Politically astute and determined to retain influence after leaving Earth, she reaches orbit among the last arrivals and challenges the station's existing command structure.

First appears in chapter 3

A German astronaut selected to command the multinational Cloud Ark project. Charismatic and decisive, he tries to hold together the many national arklets and the station's experienced crew as fear and political rivalry grow.

First appears in chapter 2

A mining entrepreneur and adventurer who has spent years developing asteroid resources. His machinery and independent expedition beyond Earth orbit offer the station survivors a possible source of material and a possible route away from the debris surrounding Earth.

First appears in chapter 4

A young woman selected for the Cloud Ark. Deeply religious, compassionate, and inclined to mediate disputes, she tries to preserve a moral community while adapting to the severe practical demands of orbital survival.

First appears in chapter 6

A survivor within the Cloud Ark whose endurance and fierce self-protection become important as the orbital community fragments and resources fail. She belongs to the group attempting to survive away from the main station complex.

Also known as Kath Two

First appears in chapter 10

A young surveyor of the far-future ring habitat, descended from Dinah's branch of humanity. Curious, impulsive, and trained for work beyond settled territory, she is recruited for an expedition to investigate evidence that the descendants of the orbital survivors may not be alone.

Also known as Beled

First appears in chapter 10

A member of the far-future mission with extensive military and survival training. Beled accompanies Kath Two beyond the settled orbital world as the group investigates signs that their civilization's account of human survival may be incomplete.

Also known as Ariane

First appears in chapter 10

A politically influential leader involved in organizing the far-future expedition. She brings together members of several lineages for a mission whose significance is concealed from much of orbital society.

First appears in chapter 12

A young representative of the underground people encountered by the far-future expedition. Her language, equipment, and history show that a distinct human civilization endured below Earth's ruined surface.