Recommendations for books like the video game Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds (not to be confused with The Outer Worlds) is a wonderfully creative sci-fi video game where the gameplay and story revolve around physics and a fictionalized understanding of quantum mechanics. It’s set near the end of the universe where all of the stars are going supernova and you play as a member of a species that explores space like backpackers following the clues left behind from an ancient civilization to figure out how to save your solar system.However, I’m not here to tell you about the game, rather I was hoping to find some recommendations from those of you who may have played it for books with a similar setting or feel. I just finished Stephen Baxter’s Vacuum Diagrams based on recommendation and I loved it. The later stories set 4 million years in the future definitely were what I was looking for.I’m looking for books with one or a few of these qualities:Set near the end of the universeSpace exploration that gives you a sense of wonderDiscovering what’s left behind of an ancient alien civilizationRelatively hard sci-fiEmotional with a sense of friendshipI am pretty new to recreational reading in general (later than I should have started) so pretty much everything is new to me. Thanks!