Planetes (or "Wanderers" if you want) is Yukimura Makoto's first work. His art style here isn't as refined as it is now. His story-telling may be a little (but only a little) rushed sometimes. One can see that he didn't have everything planned to the slightest details. Still, every single mangaka has to start somehow. And what start this is!
Set in specified future, Planetes is about common people. They're working, they have dreams, fears and problems. Hoshino, Carmichael, Mihairokov and Tanabe are our protagonists. Yukimura presents his thoughts through their own stories. They're one by one confronted with their personal "difficulty", be it loss of a wife or troubles with raising a child.
Planetes "says" that every single human has his own problems, be it in the past, today or in the future. And we have to face them because if we won't, they will ultimately face us. Hoshino, Carmichael and others have to learn how to live ("how to accept their surroundings"). As the story progresses, Yukimura shows us that there are some people, who simply can't take life as it is.
This piece of art is magnificent example how simple "human drama" should be done in very personal way. Young people trying to grasp the meaning of life. They probably won't succeed but who knows… They may find peace within themselves.