Seeking to reenergize Americans' passion for the space program, the value of further exploration of the Moon, and the importance of human beings on the final frontier, Claude A. Piantadosi presents a rich history of American space exploration and its major achievements. He emphasizes the importance of reclaiming national command of our manned program and continuing our unmanned space missions, and he stresses the many adventures that still await us in the unfolding universe. Acknowledging space exploration's practical and financial obstacles, Piantadosi challenges us to revitalize American leadership in space exploration in order to reap its scientific bounty.
Piantadosi explains why space exploration, a captivating story of ambition, invention, and discovery, is also increasingly difficult and why space experts always seem to disagree. He argues that the future of the space program requires merging the practicalities of exploration with the constraints of human biology. Space science deals with the unknown, and the margin (and budget) for error is small. Lethal near-vacuum conditions, deadly cosmic radiation, microgravity, vast distances, and highly scattered resources remain immense physical problems. To forge ahead, America needs to develop affordable space transportation and flexible exploration strategies based in sound science. Piantadosi closes with suggestions for accomplishing these goals, combining his healthy skepticism as a scientist with an unshakable belief in space's untapped—and wholly worthwhile—potential.
- Table of Contents
- Preface
- A Short Introduction to the Science of Space Exploration
- PART 1: HINDSIGHT AND FORESIGHT
- 1. Men and Machines
- A House Divided
- Robot Days
- So Few Plausible Options
- 2. A Space Lexicon
- The Thin Blue Line
- The Science of Limits
- Genes and Adaptation
- Some Astronomical Concepts
- The Tortoise and the Hare
- 3. The Explorers
- People of Adventure
- Polar Science and Space Science
- The Hard-Shell Engineers
- The Space Doctors
- 4. Twentieth-Century Space
- The Early Days
- Project Apollo
- The Shuttle Disasters
- Leo and the Space Station
- 5. Back to the Moon
- Serene Selene
- Water, Water Everywhere
- It's Not Made of Green Cheese
- Extravehicular Activity
- The View from Earth
- PART 2: A HOME AWAY FROM HOME
- 6. Living Off the Land
- Energy and Efficiency
- Ecological Footprints
- On Never Running Out of Air
- Water and Food
- 7. Round and Round It Goes. . . Where It Stops, Nobody Knows
- Recycling: Open or Closed, Hot or Cold?
- The CO2 Cylcle
- Making Room for the Jolly Green Giant
- Micronutrients
- 8. By Force of Gravity
- Allometry
- Balance and Perception
- Bone and Muscle
- Weightlessness and the White Blood Cell
- 9. The Cosmic Ray Dilemma
- The ABCs of Cosmic Rays
- The Alara Principle
- Radiation's Effects
- Countermeasures
- 10. Tiny Bubbles
- Destination Mars
- Microbes in Space
- Gas Leaks
- The Age of the Astronaut
- On Biological Clocks
- PART 3: WHERE ARE WE GOING?
- 11. The Case for Mars
- The Weather Forecast
- Surface Time
- Suits and Structures
- One-Way Trips
- 12. Big Planets, Dwarf Planets, and Small Bodies
- The Truth About Asteroids
- Oasis Ceres
- Titan and the Galileans
- Moon of the Ice Giants
- 13. New Stars, New Planets
- On Leaving the Solar System
- The Interstellar Medium
- Changing Ourselves
- Science Fact, Science Fiction
- Bibliography and Additional Reading
- Index
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