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Books > Professional & Technical > Other technologies > Space science > General
The goal of sending humans to Mars is becoming increasingly technologically feasible, but the prospect of space colonization raises important questions about civilizational ethics and collective morality. History shows how destructive colonialism has been, resulting in centuries-long struggles to achieve liberation from the violent competition for land and resources by colonial powers. Space settlement poses the same temptation on a cosmic scale, with commercial actors and government space agencies doing the work previously carried out by European empires. The question is whether humans will take a different approach in this new frontier.In Sovereign Mars, astrobiologist Jacob Haqq-Misra argues that settling Mars offers humankind a transformative opportunity to avoid the mistakes of the past by "liberating Mars" as a sovereign planet from the start. Rather than see space as a way to escape human problems on Earth, Mars presents humanity with a challenge to address these problems by thinking carefully about the theory and practice of civilization. Drawing on past examples of cooperative sovereignty, such as the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, the United Nations Law of the Sea Conventions, and the Antarctic Treaty System, Haqq-Misra begins a conversation about governance in space well in advance of the first arrival of humans on Mars and makes the case for an analogous approach to space that will preserve the space environment and benefit future generations. Haqq-Misra examines the emergence of sovereignty in space through the lens of historical precedent on Earth and develops models of shared governance that could maximize the transformative potential of Mars settlement. Sovereign Mars proposes the planet would serve humankind best as an independent planetary state, a juridical peer to Earth, to enable new experiments in human civilization and develop a pragmatic model for shared governance on Mars.
In Three Volumes. From The Most Remote Period To The Present Time: Including A Narrative Of The Early Portuguese And English Voyages, The Revolutions In The Mogul Empire, And The Origin, Progress, And Establishment Of The British Power; With Illustrations Of The Zoology, Botany, Climate, Geology, And Mineralogy. Also Medical Observations; An Account Of The Hindoo Astronomy; The Trigonometrical Surveys; And The Navigation Of The Indian Seas. Written By Murray And Seven Other Authors.
This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
The N1 was the booster rocket for the Soviet manned moon program and was thus the direct counterpart of the Saturn V, the rocket that took American astronauts to the moon in 1969. Standing 345 feet tall, the N1 was the largest rocket ever built by the Soviets and was roughly the same height and weight as the Saturn. Though initially ahead of the US in the space race, the Soviets lagged behind as the pace for being first on the moon accelerated. Massive technical and personnel difficulties, plus spectacular failures, repeatedly delayed the N1 program. After the successful American landings on the moon, it was finally canceled without the N1 ever achieving orbit. The complete history of this rarely known Soviet program is presented here, starting in 1959, along with detailed technical descriptions of the N1's design and development. A full discussion of its attempted launches, disasters, and ultimate cancellation in 1974 completes this definitive history.
Urania Was That One Of The Nine Muses Who Presided Over Astronomy And Whose Celestial Glance Inspired And Directed The Chorus Of The Spheres. She Was The Angelic Idea Which Soars Above Terrestrial Dullness.
Near the end of the Apollo 15 mission, David Scott and fellow moonwalker James Irwin conducted a secret ceremony unsanctioned by NASA: they placed on the lunar soil a small tin figurine called "The Fallen Astronaut," along with a plaque bearing a list of names. This book enriches the saga of mankind's greatest scientific undertaking, Project Apollo, and conveys the human cost of the space race - by telling the stories of those sixteen astronauts and cosmonauts who died reaching for the moon. Many people are aware of the Apollo launch pad disaster in which three men lost their lives, but few know of the other five fallen astronauts whose stories this book tells as well: among them, Ted Freeman and C.C. Williams, who died in the crashes of their -38 jets; the "Gemini Twins," Charlie Bassett and Elliot See, killed when their jet slammed into the building where their Gemini capsule was undergoing final construction; and Ed Givens, whose fatal car crash has until now been obscured by rumors. The extraordinary lives and accomplishments of these and other fallen astronauts - including eight Russian cosmonauts who lost their lives during training - unfold here in intimate and compelling detail, supported by extensive interviews and archival material. Their stories return us to a stirring time in the history of our nation and remind us of the cost of fulfilling our dreams.
As NASA prepared for the launch of Apollo 11 in July 1969, many African American leaders protested the billions of dollars used to fund "space joyrides" rather than help tackle poverty, inequality, and discrimination at home. This volume examines such tensions as well as the ways in which NASA's goal of space exploration aligned with the cause of racial equality. It provides new insights into the complex relationship between the space program and the civil rights movement in the Jim Crow South and abroad. Essays explore how thousands of jobs created during the space race offered new opportunities for minorities in places like Huntsville, Alabama, while at the same time segregation at NASA's satellite tracking station in South Africa led to that facility's closure. Other topics include black skepticism toward NASA's framing of space exploration as "for the benefit of all mankind," NASA's track record in hiring women and minorities, and the efforts of black activists to increase minority access to education that would lead to greater participation in the space program. The volume also addresses how to best find and preserve archival evidence of African American contributions that are missing from narratives of space exploration. NASA and the Long Civil Rights Movement offers important lessons from history as today's activists grapple with the distance between social movements like Black Lives Matter and scientific ambitions such as NASA's mission to Mars.
For more than a decade some of the world's most powerful defense companies have raced to launch the first constellation of low-earth orbit commercial satellites. The prize? An explosive global market for personal communications worth billions of dollars. Fresh out of Harvard Business School, twenty-something David Thompson entered the fray with an insane idea: to build his own rockets, satellites and a multi-million-dollar corporation that could go head-to-head against the big guys. His electrifying grab for the heavens--huge start-up costs, mind-blowing technical obstacles, and dark tangos with investors--is told by acclaimed writer Gary Dorsey, who was there reporting from inside. The story of their obsessive gamble in the high-stress game of space commerce is told through the lives of Thompson's managers, markets, and "freshouts"--a brilliant team of young engineers from the country's best universities. Like "The Soul of a New Machine, Silicon Sky"--part of the celebrated Sloan Technology Series--reads like fast-paced fiction, tracing the advent not just of a single company, but of a quickly emerging technological industry.
The simplest guide to astronomy and stargazing! Grasping astronomy has never been easier. The awe of the night sky will soon turn into knowledge of the constellations, planets, and astrological phenomena! Bold graphics and easy-to-understand text make this visual guide the perfect introduction to astronomy and stargazing for those who have little time but a big thirst for knowledge. Inside you'll find: - Simple, easy-to-understand graphics that help to explain astronomy, space, and the night sky in a clear, visual way - The latest astronomical information on black holes, gravitational waves, the origin of the Universe, and the planets of the Solar System - User-friendly star-charts that guide you through the sky using brighter stars as "signposts" to locate harder-to-see objects - Essential advice on the practicalities of stargazing - from observing with the naked eye to using telescopes Each pared-back entry covers the essentials more clearly than ever before. The opening chapters provide an introduction to the Universe, a visual tour of the Solar System, and a guide to more distant objects such as stars and galaxies. Along the way, concepts such as the Big Bang, gravity, and space-time are introduced and explained. Later chapters describe how to navigate around the night sky and introduce some must-see constellations, complete with simple star charts. Whether you are a complete beginner, or simply want a jargon-free reference to astronomy and stargazing, this essential guide is packed with everything you need to understand the basics quickly and easily.
A concise history of spaceflight, from military rocketry through Sputnik, Apollo, robots in space, space culture, and human spaceflight today. Spaceflight is one of the greatest human achievements of the twentieth century. The Soviets launched Sputnik, the first satellite, in 1957; less than twelve years later, the American Apollo astronauts landed on the Moon. In this volume of the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Michael Neufeld offers a concise history of spaceflight, mapping the full spectrum of activities that humans have developed in space. Neufeld explains that "the space program" should not be equated only with human spaceflight. Since the 1960s, unmanned military and commercial spacecraft have been orbiting near the Earth, and robotic deep-space explorers have sent back stunning images of faraway planets. Neufeld begins with the origins of space ideas and the discovery that rocketry could be used for spaceflight. He then discusses the Soviet-U.S. Cold War space race and reminds us that NASA resisted adding female astronauts even after the Soviets sent the first female cosmonaut into orbit. He analyzes the two rationales for the Apollo program: prestige and scientific discovery (this last something of an afterthought). He describes the internationalization and privatization of human spaceflight after the Cold War, the cultural influence of space science fiction, including Star Trek and Star Wars, space tourism for the ultra-rich, and the popular desire to go into space. Whether we become a multiplanet species, as some predict, or continue to call Earth home, this book offers a useful primer.
This resource book invites educators and students on a journey into the worlds of yesterday, today and tomorrow, where they encounter Stone Age nomads, Vikings, conquistadors, pirates and space travellers. They hear tales of sea monsters and explore life in the Middle Ages, the cultures of native tribes of North America, the traditions of the Mayans and the Aztecs, and the voyages of Columbus and later explorers. And they learn about shipbuilding, navigation, shipwrecks, slavery and colonisation. Arranged chronologically, this book focuses not only on the facts and fictions surrounding early exploration, but also extends learning beyond the realm of reading simple historical accounts of a specific era. Beginning with chapters on the spirit of exploration and the meaning of history, it offers thought-provoking discussions, resource lists of outstanding children's books and a variety of learning activities, selected for use in preschool, primary, and intermediate grades. Subsequent chapters, following the same format, trace the history of world exploration from ancient explorations to the current exploration of outer space. Games, songs, creative dramatics, writing projects, crafts, group discussions and other activities bring historical events to life and allow students to experience what life was like in other times. Each activity is coded for the appropriate grade level (PreK-6), and a number of them are in the form of reproducible sheets that teachers can copy for immediate use. They can be adapted to fit a range of age goups and a variety of purposes, from story-hours for young children to activity and reading programmes for older children. The book lists should be helpful with library book displays and as a resource for teachers. The flexibility and quantity of material included should make this book an ideal resource for both classroom and library settings. Fostering investigation, research skills, discussion, co-operative learning and independent, critical thinking it should instil youngsters with a sense of history and the spirit of exploration.
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest man-made structure to orbit Earth and has been conducting research for close to a decade and a half. Yet it is only the latest in a long line of space stations and laboratories that have flown in orbit since the early 1970s. The histories of these earlier programs have been all but forgotten as the public focused on other, higher-profile adventures such as the Apollo moon landings. A vast trove of stories filled with excitement, danger, humor, sadness, failure, and success, Outposts on the Frontier reveals how the Soviets and the Americans combined strengths to build space stations over the past fifty years. At the heart of these scientific advances are people of both greatness and modesty. Jay Chladek documents the historical tapestry of the people, the early attempts at space station programs, and how astronauts and engineers have contributed to and shaped the ISS in surprising ways. Outposts on the Frontier delves into the intriguing stories behind the USAF Manned Orbiting Laboratory, the Almaz and Salyut programs, Skylab, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, Spacelab, Mir station, Spacehab, and the ISS and gives past-due attention to Vladimir Chelomei, the Russian designer whose influence in space station development is as significant as Sergei Korolev's in rocketry. Outposts on the Frontier is an informative and dynamic history of humankind's first outposts on the frontier of space. Purchase the audio edition.
Are we alone in the universe, or are there other life forms 'out there'? This is one of the most scientifically and philosophically important questions that humanity can ask. Now, in the early 2020s, we are tantalizingly close to an answer. As this book shows, the answer will almost certainly be that life forms are to be found across the Milky Way and beyond. They will be thinly spread, to be sure. Yet the number of inhabited planets probably runs into the trillions. Some are close enough for us to detect evidence of life by analysing their atmospheres. This evidence may be found within a couple of decades. Its arrival will be momentous. But even before it arrives we can anticipate what life elsewhere will be like by examining the ecology and evolution of life on Earth. This book considers the current state of play in relation to these titanic issues.
Willy Ley inspired young rocket scientists and would-be astronauts around the world to imagine a future of interplanetary travel long before space shuttles existed. This is the first biography of the science writer and rocketeer who predicted and boosted the rise of the Space Age. Born in Germany, Ley became involved in amateur rocketry until the field was taken over by the Nazis. He fled to America, where he forged a new life as a weapons expert and journalist during World War II and as a rocket researcher after the war. As America's foremost authority on rockets, missiles, and space travel, he authored books and scientific articles, while also regularly writing for science fiction pulp magazines and publishing what he termed romantic zoology--a blend of zoology, cryptozoology, history, and mythology. He even consulted for television's Tom Corbett, Space Cadet and the Disney program Man in Space, thrilling audiences with a romanticized view of what spaceflight would be like. Yet as astronauts took center stage and scientific intellectuals such as Wernher von Braun became influential during the space race, Ley lost his celebrity status. With an old-fashioned style of popular writing and eccentric perspectives influenced by romanticism and science fiction, he was ignored by younger historians. This book returns Willy Ley to his rightful place as the energizer of an era--a time when scientists and science popularizers mixed ranks and shared the spotlight so that our far-fetched, fantastic dreams could turn into the reality of tomorrow.
This book teaches the reader to build rockets--powered by compressed air, water, and solid propellant--with the maximum possible fun, safety, and educational experience. "Make: Rockets" is for all the science geeks who look at the moon and try to figure out where Neil Armstrong walked, watch in awe as rockets lift off, and want to fly their own model rockets. Starting with the basics of rocket propulsion, readers will start out making rockets made from stuff lying around the house, and then move on up to air-, water-, and solid propellant-powered rockets.
The first book-length, in-depth ethnography of U.S. human spaceflight What if outer space is not outside the human environment but, rather, defines it? This is the unusual starting point of Valerie Olson's Into the Extreme, revealing how outer space contributes to making what counts as the scope and scale of today's natural and social environments. With unprecedented access to spaceflight worksites ranging from astronaut training programs to life science labs and architecture studios, Olson examines how U.S. experts work within the solar system as the container of life and as a vast site for new forms of technical and political environmental control. Olson's book shifts our attention from space's political geography to its political ecology, showing how scientists, physicians, and engineers across North America collaborate to build the conceptual and nuts-and-bolts systems that connect Earth to a specifically ecosystemic cosmos. This cosmos is being redefined as a competitive space for potential economic resources, social relations, and political strategies. Showing how contemporary U.S. environmental power is bound up with the production of national technical and scientific access to outer space, Into the Extreme brings important new insights to our understanding of modern environmental history and politics. At a time when the boundaries of global ecologies and economies extend far below and above Earth's surface, Olson's new analytic frameworks help us understand how varieties of outlying spaces are known, made, and organized as kinds of environments-whether terrestrial or beyond. |
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