From September 2007 to June 2008 the Space Studies Board conducted an international public seminar series, with each monthly talk highlighting a different topic in space and Earth science. The principal lectures from the series are compiled in Forging the Future of Space Science. The topics of these events covered the full spectrum of space and Earth science research, from global climate change, to the cosmic origins of life, to the exploration of the Moon and Mars, to the scientific research required to support human spaceflight.
The prevailing messages throughout the seminar series as demonstrated by the lectures in this book are how much we have accomplished over the past 50 years, how profound are our discoveries, how much contributions from the space program affect our daily lives, and yet how much remains to be done. The age of discovery in space and Earth science is just beginning. Opportunities abound that will forever alter our destiny.
- FrontMatter
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- Contents
- Forging the Future of Space Science: The Next 50 Years
- John C. Mather
- From the Big Bang to the Nobel Prize and on to the James Webb Space Telescope--John C. Mather
- Ralph J. Cicerone
- Global Climate Change and Human Causes--Ralph J. Cicerone
- Wesley T. Huntress, Jr.
- Science Goes to the Moon and Planets: Celebrating 50 years since the IGY--Wesley T. Huntress, Jr.
- Carl E. Walz
- Leaving the Planet: Science and Technology Results on the International Space Station--Carl E. Walz
- Christopher F. Chyba
- The Possibility of Life Elsewhere in the Universe--Christopher F. Chyba
- Christopher Rapley
- Understanding the Poles of Earth, the Moon, and Mars--Christopher Rapley
- Edward C. Stone
- Voyager’s Journey to the Edge of Interstellar Space--Edward C. Stone
- Charles Elachi
- Future of Space and Earth Robotic Exploration: Scientific and Technological Challenges and Opportunities--Charles Elachi
- Frank B. McDonald
- Explorer 1: Gateway to the Never Ending Wonders of Space Science--The Space Studies Board Van Allen Lecture delivered by Frank B. McDonald
- Appendixes
- Appendix A: The International Geophysical Year
- Appendix B: The Space Studies Board
- Appendix C:Program of Public Events