Star Trek: Year Five - four-volume trade paperback (from the comic books)
Outstanding pacing, art, and characterization. Uhura really gets a chance to show her expertise in communications. Several connections to the original series, but they don’t feel like they’re just awkwardly-forced name checks.
Crewed vs uncrewed is a decision made at the very beginning of the planning stages, years ago. These days a crew is just a gigantic extra expense on a mission with little return. Remotely operated missions can achieve all their scientific objectives.