Known Space

Known Space is the fictional setting of several science fiction novels and short stories written by author Larry Niven. It has also in part been used as a shared universe in the Man-Kzin Wars spin-off anthologies sub-series.

The epithet "Known Space" is an in-universe term that refers to a relatively small part of the galaxy centered around Earth. In the future which the series depicts, ranging from a few centuries to about a millennium from now, this region has been explored by humans and a number of its worlds have been colonized. On other worlds aliens have been encountered, contact has been made with alien species such as the two-headed Pierson's Puppeteers and the aggressive felinoid Kzinti.