Destiny — Wes Boyd

The year is 2241 and geologist Arik Kalita thinks planet Earth is getting too crowded and too regulated, so he signs on with the next sublightspeed exploration ship to the stars, one aimed at a star eight lightyears away. Coldsleep technology will allow Arik, exobiologist Leticia Ozawa, and 20,000 others to arrive still young enough to experience a long life on a new planet. However, the new planet turns out to be airless and uninhabitable. There are time limits for coldsleep. Do they head back to an Earth 450 years in their future, or do they try for another star, knowing that if it is also unsuitable there might not be another chance?