International Geophysical Year (1957–1958), 37
International Institute of Air and Space Law, 199
International MicroSpace, 90
International Scientific Lunar Observatory, 157
International Space Station, 55, 64–65, 64, 71, 75, 91, 96, 100, 102, 142, 143, 144, 151, 153, 154, 159, 178–79, 179, 185, 272, 275
living conditions on, 116–17
as staging point, 148
supply runs to, 100–101, 104
International Space University, 90
International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 105–6, 144
Internet:
Congressional legislation on, 78, 144
development of, 76–77, 77, 94, 95, 271
erroneous predictions about, 213–14
limitations of, 66–67
robotics and, 206
space travel compared to, 76–80, 77, 80
Internet Service Providers (ISPs), 78
interstellar travel, 215–18
energy technology for, 219–24
four approaches to, 251–52
scale model for, 219
Intrepid rovers, 165
Inuit people, 120
Io, 53, 177
property rights on, 145
“iron curtain,” 35
Iron Man, 95
isolation, psychological impact of, 169–70
Jacob’s Ladder, 149
Jade Rabbit (“Yutu”), 139, 143, 161
Japan, 161, 273
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), 184
Jefferson, Thomas, 224
Jemison, Mae, 224
jet engines, 69–70
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 141
Johnson, Lyndon, 38, 42, 45, 158, 269
Johnson Space Center, 76, 104, 179, 206, 229, 269
see also Mission Control
Jones, Stephanie Tubbs, 74
Joules per kilogram (MJ/kg), 219–20, 222
Journalist in Space program, 74
“junk” DNA, 10, 266
Juno probe, 228
Jupiter, 126, 127, 177, 217, 270
distance from Earth to, 50
moons of, 97, 125, 125
probes to, 51–52, 228
as uninhabitable, 125
Justin (robot), 178
Kaku, Michio, 253
Karash, Yuri, 65
Kardashev, Nikolai, 253
Kardashev scale, 253, 254, 258
Kármán line, 70, 70, 101
Kennedy, John F., 41–43, 45
Kepler, Johannes, 183
Kepler’s law, 127
Kepler spacecraft and telescope, 128, 128, 129–31, 218, 278
Khrushchev, Nikita, 42, 47
Kickstarter, 184
Killian, James, 38
Kline, Nathan, 205
Knight, Pete, 71
Komarov, Vladimir, 43, 108
Korean War, 141
Korolev, Sergei, 35, 37
Kraft, Norbert, 200
Krikalev, Sergei, 115
Kunza language, 119
Kurzweil, Ray, 94, 207, 259
Laika (dog), 47, 65, 269
Laliberté, Guy, 75
landings, challenges of, 51, 84–85, 170
Lang, Fritz, 28, 268
language:
of cryptography, 291
emergence of, 15, 16
of Orcas, 190
in reasoning, 13
Lansdorp, Bas, 170–71, 198–99, 282
lasers, 223, 224, 225–26, 239
pulsed, 190, 243
last common ancestor, 6, 123, 265
Late Heavy Bombardment, 172
latency, 178
lava tubes, 160
legislation, on space, 39, 78, 90, 144, 145–47, 198–200
Le Guin, Ursula K., 236–37
Leonov, Alexey, 55
L’Garde Inc., 284
Licancabur volcano, 119
Licklider, Joseph Carl Robnett “Lick,” 76–78
life:
appearance and evolution on Earth of, 172
artificial, 258
detection of, 216–18
extension of, 26, 207–8, 250–51, 259
extraterrestrial, see aliens, extraterrestrial
intelligent, 190, 235, 241, 243, 258
requirements of habitability for, 122–26, 125, 129, 131–33, 241, 256–57
lifetime factor (L), 234–335
lift, in flight, 68–70, 83
lift-to-drag ratio, 83
light:
from binary stars, 126
as biomarker, 217
Doppler shift of, 127
momentum and energy from, 183
speed of, 178, 228–29, 250, 251
waves, 66
Lindbergh, Charles, 30, 81–82, 90–91, 268
“living off the land,” 166, 200
logic, 14, 18
Long March, 141
Long March rockets, 113, 142, 143
Long Now Foundation, 293
Los Alamos, N. Mex., 239
Los Angeles Times, 71
Losing My Virginity (Branson), 86, 87
Louis IX, king of France, 23
Louis XVI, king of France, 68
Lovelock, James, 286
Lowell, Percival, 163–64
Lucian of Samosata, 20
Lucretius, 18–19
Luna program, 50–51
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, 156
Lunokhod rover, 143
Lynx rocket plane, 101
M5 fiber, 161
McAuliffe, Christa, 55, 74
Mack 3 Blackbird, 69
McKay, Chris, 173
McLellan, William, 283
magnetic implants, 207
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 190
magnetic sails, 186, 223
magnitude of time, 248–50, 249
Manhattan Project, 36, 221
Manifest Destiny, applied to space, 146–47, 199
Manned Habitat Unit, 169
many worlds concept, 17–20, 17, 49, 267
Mao Zedong, 141
Marconi, Guglielmo, 237
Mariner 2, 51
Mariner 4, 164
Marino, Lori, 190
Marriott hotels, 145
Mars, 28, 237, 270
challenges of travel to, 166–70
distance from Earth to, 50, 148, 166
Earth compared to, 171–72, 216
establishing a colony on, 166–71, 169, 192, 195, 200–201, 203, 214, 248
evidence of water on, 124–25, 163–66, 165, 173
fly-bys of, 51, 170
imaginative perceptions of, 163–65
latency on, 178
map of, 163
obstacles to exploration of, 66–67, 148
one-way journey to, 166, 170–71, 200
as potentially habitable, 124–25, 163, 165–66, 171, 172–74, 234, 278
privately funded missions to, 170–71
probes to, 40, 51, 52, 164–65, 176, 246
projected exploration of, 94–98, 101, 104, 115, 119, 157, 161, 163–74, 178, 181, 182
property rights on, 145, 198–99
sex and reproduction on, 200
simulated journey to, 169–70
soil of, 170
staging points for, 161
terraforming of, 172–74, 182, 216, 227
tests for life on, 52
Mars Direct, 169
Mars500 mission, 169
Mars One, 170–71, 198–201
Mars Society, 166
Mars 3 lander, 51
Masai people, 120
Massachusetts General Hospital, 250
Masson-Zwaan, Tanja, 199
mathematics, 19
as universal language, 236–37
Matrix, The, 260
matter, manipulation of, 258
matter-antimatter annihilation, 220, 220, 221–22
&n
bsp; Mavroidis, Constantinos, 182
Max-Q (maximum aerodynamic stress), 46
Maxwell, James Clerk, 183
Mayor, Michel, 126–28, 133
medicine:
challenges and innovation in, 92–93, 263
cyborgs in, 205
medicine (continued)
as lacking in space, 200
in life extension, 259
nanotechnology in, 225, 259
robots in, 180, 181, 182, 205
mediocrity, principle of, 261
Mendez, Abel, 278
mental models, 13–17, 18–19
Mercury:
orbit of, 126, 215
property rights on, 145
as uninhabitable, 124
mercury poisoning, 118
Mercury program, 41, 42, 71, 74, 272
meta-intelligence, 94
meteorites, 152, 160, 160, 164, 195
methane, 52–53, 125, 132, 278
as biomarker, 217–18
methanogens, 217
“Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes, A” (Goddard), 30, 31
Methuselah, 131
mice, in scientific research, 48–49, 250–51
microbes, microbial life, 97–98, 173, 174, 217, 241, 246, 286
habitable environments for, 122–25, 165–66, 186
microcephaly, 203
microgravity, 115
microsatellites, 90
Microsoft, 84, 188
microwaves:
beaming of, 223–24
signals, 187
Microwave Sciences, 223
Middle East, population dispersion into, 8, 118
migration:
early human population dispersion through, 5–9, 9, 15, 19
motivation for, 9–12, 11
military:
covert projects of, 69–72
Eisenhower’s caveat about, 79
in Internet development, 77, 78–79
nanotechnology in, 180–81, 225
in rocket development, 30, 32–39, 55–56, 71
in space programs, 73, 76, 79, 144, 153
Milky Way galaxy, 227, 240, 253, 263, 270
ancient Greek concept of, 18
Drake equation for detectable life in, 188, 233–35
Earth-like exoplanets in, 129–33, 233, 291
formation and age of, 235
size of, 242
Millis, Marc, 290
mind control, 245
mind uploading, 259
miniaturization, see nanotechnology
minimum viable population, 201, 251
mining:
of asteroids, 155–56, 182, 214
of Enceladus, 227
on Moon, 214
by robots, 178, 182
Minsky, Marvin, 177, 179
MirCorp, 75
mirrors, 173
Mir Space Station, 75, 115, 167–68
Miss Baker (monkey), 47–48, 48
Mission Control, 43, 100, 158, 269
MIT, 38, 77, 90, 141, 226, 257
mitochondrial DNA, 6, 9
Mittelwerk factory, 33, 35
Mojave Desert, 71, 82, 83
population adaptation to heat in, 118–19
molecules, in nanotechnology, 151
Mongols, 23, 24
monkeys, in space research, 47–48, 48
Montgolfier brothers, 68
Moon:
age of, 50
ancient Greek concept of, 18
in asteroid capture, 156
distance from Earth to, 49–50, 150, 166, 267
first animals on, 49
first man on, 71, 158
latency on, 178
lunar base proposed for, 157–63, 158, 160, 195, 214, 248
manned landings on, 44–45, 49–50, 54, 56, 63, 71, 84, 99, 104, 108, 143, 157, 158, 176, 219, 270, 272
obstacles to exploration of, 66
orbit of, 25
probes to, 40, 51, 129, 140, 143
projected missions to, 92, 143, 157–63, 166, 214, 275
property rights on, 145–47, 198–99
proposed commercial flights to, 102
in science fiction, 20, 26
soil of, 159, 160, 162
as staging point for Mars, 161
staging points for, 148
telescopic views of, 31, 49–50
as uninhabitable, 124, 166
US commitment to reach, 41–45
Moon Treaty (1979), 146
Moon Treaty, UN (1984), 279
Moore, John, 203
Moravec, 259–60
Morgan, Barbara, 74
Morrison, Philip, 187, 239
Mosaic web browser, 79
Moses, 148
motion, Newton’s laws of, 25, 67–68
multistage rockets, 29
multiverse, 252–57, 255
Musk, Elon, 94–98, 97, 100–101, 112–13, 148, 205
mutation, 6–7
cosmic rays and, 204
7R, 10–12, 11, 15
mutually assured destruction, 42
Mylar, 184, 225
N1/L3 rocket, 44, 54
nanobots, 179–82, 181, 224–28
NanoSail-D, 184, 185
nanosponges, 180
nanotechnology, 151–52, 179–82, 208, 214, 245, 280, 283
projected future of, 257–59
see also nanobots
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 83, 90, 96, 97–98, 114, 116–17, 128, 144, 153, 156, 176, 178, 182, 184–85, 185, 195, 200, 205, 206, 216, 224, 226, 271, 275, 280, 290
and Air Force, 71
artistic depiction of space colonies by, 196, 196
budget of, 39, 42, 43, 49, 54, 64, 75, 99, 104, 140, 144, 158, 166, 188, 238, 270, 272, 284
cut back of, 45, 49, 54, 188
formation of, 38–39, 145, 269
private and commercial collaboration with, 99–102, 104
revival of, 103–5
space program of, 51, 55–56, 71–76, 92, 157–58, 285–86
stagnation of, 63–67, 141, 147, 166
National Geographic Society, 7, 265
National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 187–88
National Science Foundation (NSF), 78–79
Native Americans, 118
naturalness, 256
natural selection, 6, 16, 123, 164, 251, 291
Nature, 187
Naval Research lab, 37
Navy, US:
Bureau of Aeronautics, 30
in rocket development, 36–37
Nayr, Ernst, 238
Nazis, 48
Propaganda Ministry of, 32
von Braun and, 32–34, 141, 269
NBC, 75
“needle in a haystack” problem, 188–89, 242–43
“Nell” (rocket), 29
Neptune, 127, 131, 225
as uninhabitable, 125
Nergal, 163
Netscape, 80
New Mexico, 88, 88, 105
Newton, Isaac, 24–25, 25, 30, 67–68, 110, 262, 267
New York Times, 30, 94
Nicholas, Henry, 214
Niven, Larry, 198, 253
Nixon, Richard, 108, 167
Nobel Prize, 126, 180, 214
nomad planets, 128
Noonan, James, 266
nuclear fission, 220, 220, 221
nuclear fusion, 110, 161–62, 220, 221, 221, 222
nuclear reactors, 224
nuclear weapons, 36, 42, 78, 129, 146, 197–98, 222, 234–35, 244, 245, 246, 286
Nuremberg Chronicles, 17
Nyberg, Karen, 200
Obama, Barack, 104
Oberth, Hermann, 28, 31–32, 36, 268
oceans:
acidification of, 195
sealed ecosystem proposed for, 197
Oculus Rift, 176
Ohio, astronauts from, 74
O
kuda, Michael, 228
Olsen, Ken, 213
100 Year Starship project, 224
100 Year Starship Symposium, 229
101955 Bennu (asteroid), 156
O’Neill, Gerard, 196, 251–52
Opportunity rover, 165
optical SETI, 190, 243
Orbital Sciences Corporation, 100–101, 275
orbits:
concept of, 25
geostationary, 149–50, 150
legislation on, 146
low Earth, 49, 54, 63, 70–71, 70, 74–75, 97, 100, 110, 113–14, 151, 155, 184
manned, 40–41, 141–42
staging points from, 148
orcas, 190
Orion spacecraft, 104
Orteig, Raymond, 90
Orteig Prize, 90–91
Orwell, George, 35
OSIRIS-REx, 156
Outer Space Treaty (1967), 145–47, 198–99
“Out of the Cradle, Endlessly Rocking” (Clarke), 201
oxygen, 156, 159, 161, 170, 172, 173–74, 182, 193–95, 214
Oymyakon, Siberia, population adaptation to cold in, 119–20
ozone, as biomarker, 217
Pacific Ocean, 9, 224
Pac-Man, 175
Page, Larry, 92
Paine, Thomas, 167
Pale Blue Dot (Sagan), 121
“Pale Blue Dot,” Earth as, 53, 118–22, 121, 130
Paperclip, Operation, 141
parabolic flight, 93
paradox, as term, 241
Paratrechina longicornis (crazy ant), 193
Parkinson’s disease, 202–3
particle physics, standard model of, 256
Pascal, Blaise, 120
Pauley, Phil, 196–97
PayPal, 95, 97
Pensées (Pascal), 120
People’s Daily, 162
People’s Liberation Army, 144
Pericles, 18
Pettit, Don, 100, 273
phenotype, 6
philanthropy, 95
PhoneSat, 185
photons, 183, 186
in teleportation, 229, 230, 231
photosynthesis, as biomarker, 217
pigs, 250
Pinker, Steven, 16
Pioneer probes, 50, 51–52
piracy, 24
Pitcairn Island, 202
planetary engineering, 172
Planetary Resources, 156
planetary science, 51–52, 176
Planetary Society, 184
planets:
exploration of, 49–53
formation of, 156
plate techtonics, 132, 241
play, imagination in, 10, 14
pluralism, 17–20, 17, 49
plutonium, 66
poetry, space, 272–73
politics, space exploration and, 63–64, 104, 141, 214, 238
Polyakov, Valeri, 115, 167–68
population bottleneck, 201–2, 287
Poynter, Jane, 193
Princess of Mars, A (Burroughs), 164
Principia (Newton), 25
Project Orion, 221, 221
Project Ozma, 187–88, 237, 253
prokaryotes, 172
property rights, in space, 145–47, 198
Proton rockets, 65, 113
proton scoop, 222–23
Proxmire, William, 238