Beyond: Our Future in Space (45 page)

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

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 (
continue
d
)

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

Nedelin, Mitrofan, 43

“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

Okuda, 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

Puerto Rico,
239
, 243

pulsar, 131

Pythagorean Theorem, 238

Qian Xuesen, 141

Qi Jiguang, 24

Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize, 92

quantum entanglement, 230–32,
230

quantum genesis, 255

quantum mechanics, 258

quantum teleportation, 230–32,
230

quantum theory, 189

qubits,
230

Queloz, Didier, 126–28, 133

R-7 rocket, 37

R-16 rocket, 43

radiation, infrared, 109, 253–54,
254

radioactivity, as energy source, 124, 181

radio waves, 66, 187, 189, 242

ramjets, 222–23

RAND Corporation, 222

Rare Earth hypothesis, 241

RCS Energia, 106

RD-180 engine, 72

Reagan, Ronald, administration of, 167, 271

reality TV, 75, 171, 214, 282

“Realm of Fear,” 229

reasoning, human capacity for, 13–17, 18–19

red dwarfs, 131

Red Mars
(Stanley), 174

Red Scare, 141

Redstone rocket, 36–37, 71

reindeer, 119–20

remote sensing, 175–91, 224

RepRap Project, 227

reproduction, sexual, 6, 172

Ride, Sally, 74

“Right Stuff,” as term, 71, 114

Right Stuff, The
(Wolfe), 272

Ringworld
series (Niven), 253

risk:

as basic to human nature, 9, 262

genetic factor in, 10–12

of living on Mars, 167–70

in pushing human limits, 120

of space tourism, 102, 105–9, 155