Beyond the Limits by carmenyeh

BEYOND THE LIMITS A

FLIGHT

THE

FUTURE_

. . .

. . C 9.2 5.1

. 7.8 4.3 1.2 5.6 . . 6.3 . .

. . .

9.4 . .

. . . . . . . .

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PRE FLIGHT SAFETY

Prepare yourself for a long, unpredictable and difficult journey ahead where the path is dark and empty.

DEMONSTRATION

Beyond the Limits is a publication which grips you to the absolute extreme of humanity and our fate. By exploring the future possibility of space settlement and its benefits, we are pushed to our full potential as a society in order to survive against all odds.

With theories and designs currently being developed and discussed, the potential for success is high, but not everything is a linear journey. Interstellar travel is the epitome of human migration taken to a new, unfamiliar level where there are high levels of speculation and contemplation. What will the future hold for us? What will happen to our culture and way of life after settling in space? Will we begin to exhibit different physical features and habits? Take the dive, and decide for yourself.

PHASE_

THREE

TWO ONE

THE NEED FOR SPACE TRAVEL

Human survival is currently threatened by many existential risks. Because human kind is the only known species capable of complex morality, if human kind went extinct, morality would die with us. Given that the existence of human kind is a precondition for morality, therefore the first principle of morality should be, as Hans Jonas noted, that human kind must exist. Compared to ensuring human survival, all other moral values and actions are secondary. While protecting human life on Earth is the obvious choice for human survival, as long as humanity is in only one place, it will never be completely safe. Because space settlement gives human kind the opportunity to significantly raise the chances of survival for our species, it is therefore a moral imperative to settle space as quickly as possible.

BEYOND THE LIMITS

PHASE ONE

B A

Many people will agree that humankind is in trouble. Wars, terrorism, and violent crime blend together. Nuclear weapons are just the tip of the iceberg of the new technologicallyenabled weapons of mass destruction that are being or could be developed: cyber-weapons, lethal autonomous weapon systems (“killer robots”), AI weapons, synthetic biological weapons, nanotechnological weapons, even the potential redirection of asteroids to impact Earth or the intentional triggering of supervolcanic eruptions, and so-on. And while it might seem like rational national actors might be able to limit the use of these dangerous technologies, as has been done with nuclear weapons, there are certainly individuals and groups which would be happy to destroy humankind, without consulting with the rest of us first. Additionally, problems of collective human action such as environmental degradation threaten not only individual species, but entire habitats, human survival, and the entire planetary ecosystem. And these are just a few of the myriad threats we face.

SITUATION

Given humanity’s track record of destruction, some argue that if humanity is going to go extinct, then it deserves it, it ought to go extinct, and thereby return Earth back to its happy past, free of humans. Of note is that this is a moral argument, that it collectively judges all of humanity (and perhaps much of the ecosphere that could die along with us) by what might be only the actions of a few individuals, and that it also derives an “ought” from an “is”, which is a complex philosophical undertaking (though not, I think, impossible. However, it is worth noting that if those in favor of this argument were correct in this case, and humanity were deservedly to go extinct, then along with humanity, morality would cease to exist, and moral argument with it, thus vitiating their own moral argument (i.e. by implicitly demonstrating that moral value is of no moral value). Under most forms of argumentation, agreeing that the preconditions for your own existence ought to be negated would be considered a reductio ad absurdum, and thus the argument be done, with clear winners and losers. However, humans are rarely so perceptive.

N D

LOSERS

SHOULD WE GIVE UP?

To preserve this possibility is a cosmic responsibility— hence the duty for mankind to exist. Put epigrammatically: the possibility of there being responsibility in the world, which is bound to the existence of men, is of all objects of responsibility the first. …That they live well is the second commandment.

NO!

To avoid human extinction on Earth, humankind is morally obligated to preserve the preconditions of its own existence, through mitigating and adapting to existential and global catastrophic risks, protecting the environment, solidifying world peace, controlling and limiting dangerous technologies, reducing natural hazards, etc.

To avoid going extinct on Earth, we can move off-planet. This is vital because even if we do manage to preserve Earth from planetaryscale disaster for a very long time, the statistical risk can never be fully expunged. Therefore, to avoid “having all our eggs in one basket” humankind is morally obligated to grow to new places in the cosmos, to ensure that a single planetary disaster cannot wipe out all of us.

I agree with Jonas that the imperative of responsibility, that humankind ought to exist, is the first ethical priority of all, since it is the premise which makes any subsequent kind of moral argumentation possible. Within this broad imperative there are three further practical ramifications which we can derive, based on the fact that there are three major ways to avoid human extinction on Earth.

Another way (besides mass-death) for humankind to go extinct would be to evolve away from being human, and specifically relevant in this case, away from having a moral capacity. Therefore humanity is under the moral obligation not to direct its evolution away from having a moral capacity, whether through biotechnological, electronic, AI-enabled, or other means. This is a caution against transhumanism, as those who seek to “enhance” humanity into new forms may actually be degrading us. 16

THE NEED FOR SPACE TRAVEL

BRIAN PATRICK GGREEN

In contrast to this necrotic ideology, other scholars have emphasized the incredible importance of human life, despite our moral shortcomings. Hans Jonas argued in The Imperative of Responsibility that because humanity is the only species we know of which is capable of ethics, it is thereby bound by ethics, and the primary morally-binding principle of ethics is that humanity ought to continue to exist, so that ethics itself may remain a possibility within the universe.

NEED TO

ACT

NOW_

PHASE ONE

BEYOND THE LIMITS

The first and third of these ramifications might seem relatively easy — most of the risk reduction could be accomplished just by not doing certain unethical things. This is certainly the case for the third, however, for the first, the actions are already being done and we are now in a distinctively bad place where humanity is trapped in deterrent situations with terrible weapons and more, even worse weapons on the way. The first is thus an extremely difficult problem to solve. Furthermore, because no matter what humans do our risk of extinction on Earth cannot be reduced to zero (given natural risks and statistical uncertainties), we therefore ought to examine the second ramification. The second ramification, by contrast to the first and third ramifications (which focus on refraining from bad activities, and thus actually involve lack of action and not spending money), might seem particularly difficult, unpleasant, and ludicrously expensive (though cost should give us less pause considering the existence of the concept of money is itself at stake). However, given the difficulties of ramification one (i.e. that it is politically extremely difficult as well as, given natural threats, statistically impossible), ramification two must be pursued, and, given our present situation, pursued as quickly as possible. It is ethically imperative that we grow human civilization into space.

Humanity seems to be the only one of its kind — a species capable of deeply considering morality. This ability to tell right from wrong and recognize good and evil is of moral value because moral value itself cannot exist without it. Nihilists and adherents of error theory might still assert that humankind’s existence is irrelevant or insignificant, but they could not assert a moral “ought” to their argument.

THE NEED FOR

In opposition to those who have no problem with the death of humanity, those who see moral value in the existence of moral value see people as precious and rare in an otherwise nonliving, non-moral universe. With no current evidence of other morally-capable life anywhere, humanity is apparently burdened with a gift that exists nowhere else in the universe. Given this possibility, the extreme danger to which that gift is now subjected, and the difficultly in resolving that danger, settling a self-sustaining group of humans off-planet as soon as possible, despite the intrinsic danger and difficulty, becomes an ethical mandate. But how fast ought we to pursue this end? Because of the intrinsic uncertainty of risks and of judgments about risks, time of the essence. We have no idea exactly how much danger we are in, but we know it is approaching, or already is, existential. Extinction looms, waiting to kill the only morally-capable creature in the universe. We can do something to stop this extinction; we can save the existence of morality itself. Our duty, then, must be to try to save it, with as great certainty and determination as possible.

S P E E D

I A

I M

If we were outside of the universe and it were another creature that we looked upon that was the only of its kind, with an ability unlike anything else ever known — a worldtransforming ability, no less, the ability potentially to make the universe a better place — and it was within our power to save this creature, hopefully the choice would be clear, and we would do so. That the creature instead is ourselves and we are our own worst threat does complicate the matter, but not enough to warrant a morose resignation towards thinking we deserve our own demise.

We need to act now. While yes, of course, we should do everything we can to preserve human civilization upon the Earth, we should also admit that this cannot ultimately be the sole solution to this problem, and given the importance of the gift we bear and the constant threat that gift faces from destruction, growing human civilization beyond Earth as soon as possible is an ethical imperative. The only limit on this pursuit should be the risk of space settlement efforts destabilizing human civilization upon the Earth, which is not a serious threat at this time. Efforts to start self-sustaining cities on other planets should, then, be given as much assistance as is practically possible. Musk stated goal of using SpaceX to build a city on Mars is a tough goal, but considering the relative difficulties of establishing world peace and regulating the development of all dangerous technologies, settling on Mars may actually be relatively easy. It certainly has fewer political difficulties, though the technical ones remain immense.

P E R A T

Time may be running out for humanity on Earth. If we go extinct, whether in a bang or a whimper, we will have not only killed (or allowed to be killed) billions of women, men, and children (and count-less other organisms), but also destroyed all the possible humans of the future and the possibility of morality itself. One might argue that such an outcome is irrelevant, but one cannot consistently argue that it is morally right since it undermines the existence of morality itself.

I V E

The three ramifications of this fact — that humanity must exist in order for moral arguments to exist are: _1 _2 _3

Protect humanity from existential risks, Settle humans across space as widely as possible, and Prevent the technological manipulation of humans into non-moral beings.

Of these the third need merely be refrained from, while the first could have been refrained from in the past, but has now locked us into very unstable and dangerous situation, from which we cannot be easily extricated. In comparison, then, space settlement (which is already a ramification towards which humankind has some disposition) may be the relatively easiest solution to the problem of saving at least some of humanity, and along with them the precious gift of moral awareness in the universe.

THE NEED FOR SPACE TRAVEL

BRIAN PATRICK GGREEN

HUMANITY IS TRAPPED SITUATIONS WITH TER MORE, EVEN WORSE WE

D IN DETERRENT RRIBLE WEAPONS AND EAPONS ON THE WAY_

BENEFITS STEMMING FROM SPACE EXPLORATION

For more than fifty years, humans have explored space, and this has produced a continuing Flow of societal benefits. By its very nature, space exploration expands the envelope of human knowledge and presence throughout the solar system, and this process has been accelerated by a combination of human and robotic activities. Experience has demonstrated that, as long as humankind addresses the challenges of exploring mankindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s common frontier of space, many tangible societal benefits are produced, and in addition to those most commonly anticipated, a great variety of valuable innovations are generated serendipitously, for this is the nature of discovery.

BEYOND THE LIMITS

PHASE ONE

E W A

From the early days of space flight, it became apparent that space exploration was an efficient driver for basic science and technology. The new challenges called for new approaches. The cost of launches drove designers to make spacecraft computers lighter, smaller and with the highest performance and dependability. Solar cells, batteries and fuel cells were driven by space needs and benefitted many sectors on Earth. The first satellites, designed to study the space environment and test initial capabilities in Earth orbit, contributed critical knowledge for developing space telecommunications, global positioning, and advances in weather forecasting. The early missions also formed the technological basis for advanced space exploration, enabling the first robotic and human missions to the Moon, as well as highly capable planetary spacecraft and crewed space stations in orbit.

PPROACH

Over time, governments around the world increasingly cooperated to conduct complex space missions, demonstrating the power of international partnerships to amplify accomplishments in space. The success has been impressive and space systems continue to drive innovation, support world class science, provide vital services, and are part of the daily life of the common citizen. Service driven space systems are the overwhelming part of space activity today. Furthermore, the legacy of these historical efforts to develop sophisticated and useful capabilities and partnerships is evident in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exploration programmes such as the International Space Station (ISS), which continues to contribute significant benefits to humanity. The ISS supports investigations in life and physical sciences, as well as advancing research and technology to solve problems associated with long duration human space flight that have many applications on the ground.

Future space exploration goals call for sending humans and robots beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and establishing sustained access to space exploration destinations such as the Moon, asteroids and Mars. Space agencies participating in the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) are discussing an international approach for achieving these goals, documented in ISECGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Global Exploration Roadmap, that begins with the ISS and advances coordinated human and robotic exploration, leading, amongst other things, to human missions on the surface of Mars. Achieving these ambitious exploration goals requires researchers to surmount new challenges and develop coordinated human and robotic exploration capabilities. As has been demonstrated in the past, deploying the unique and complementary capabilities of both humans and robotic space systems is not only essential for solar system exploration, but also promises to expand many benefits provided to people on Earth. While early space scientists and engineers expected that space exploration would have positive impacts on humanity, they could not have foreseen all the specific social and economic benefits that have flowed from their work. So too, the current generation cannot predict in detail what benefits will eventually appear as a result of its efforts The unforeseen positive results of the past five decades indicate the great potential for space exploration to continue producing a wide range of applications and knowledge which will expand the space based economy even further.

B E E

Space exploration stimulates the creation of both tangible and intangible benefits for humanity. Tangible impacts include all the innovation related applications and benefits resulting from investments in these programmes, such as new devices and services that spin off into the marketplace. In addition, space exploration leads to advances in science and technology, and furthers workforce development and industrial capabilities, thus leading to an overall stimulation of private companies and industries, all of which contributes significantly to the economic progress of space faring nations. Space exploration is also known to attract young people into careers in science and technology to the general benefit of society and the economy. Space exploration also results in various intangible impacts due to the social and philosophical dimensions that address the nature and meaning of human life. Intangible benefits include the enriching of culture, the inspiration of citizens, and the building of mutual understanding as a result of international cooperation among space faring nations.

N F I T

Space exploration’s capacity to continue delivering significant benefits to humanity was recognized by high level government representatives from around the world when they convened in Lucca, Italy, in November 2011. They concluded that space exploration provides —

Unprecedented opportunities to deliver benefits to humanity on Earth… These benefits include fuelling future discoveries; addressing global challenges in space and on Earth through the use of innovative

RARITY

technology; creating global partnerships by sharing challenging and peaceful goals; inspiring society and especially the younger

generations through collective and individual efforts; and enabling economic expansion and new business opportunities.

R A

G I

BENEFITS STEMMING FROM SPACE EXPLORATION

FUNDAMENTAL

ISECG

To a great extent, the benefits from space exploration are rooted in the generation of new knowledge, which is the first reward and which has inherent value to humankind. Technological knowledge, generated when high performance space systems are developed to address the extreme challenges of space missions, yields many innovations that benefit the public. Scientific knowledge acquired from space expands humankind’s understanding of nature and frequently unlocks creative and useful Earth based applications for society. In the longer term, the knowledge accumulated over many missions and the expansion of human presence into the Solar System help people gain perspective on the fragility and rarity of life in the Universe and on humankind’s accomplishments, potential, and destiny.

BEYOND THE LIMITS

PHASE ONE

The challenge of space exploration drives a continuing effort to design ever more capable, reliable, and efficient systems requiring the utmost ingenuity. Space exploration missions use the unique capabilities of humans (e.g. on the spot decisionmaking, cognitive adaptability, versatility) and robots (e.g. precision, sensory accuracy, reliability and expendability) to achieve ambitious exploration goals. Maximizing the productivity of these missions by demanding an effective partnership between humans and machines drives progress in human health care, robotics, automation, and other domains. Space exploration thus supports innovation and economic prosperity by stimulating advances in science and technology, as well as motivating the global scientific and technological workforce, thus enlarging the sphere of human economic activity. Overcoming the challenges of working in space has led to many technological and scientific advances that have provided benefits to society on Earth in areas including health and medicine, transportation, public safety, consumer goods, energy and environment, information technology, and industrial productivity. The wider list of technological benefits encompasses improved solar panels, implantable heart monitors, light-based anticancer therapy, cordless tools, light-weight high-temperature alloys used in jet engine turbines, cameras found in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cell phones, compact water purification systems, global searchand-rescue systems and biomedical technologies.

SPACE EXPLORATION

STIMULATES THE

CREATION OF BOTH

TANGIBLE AND

INTANGIBLE BENEFITS FOR

HUMANITY_

PHASE_

THREE

TWO ONE

THE WORMHOLE THEORY

The wormhole theory postulates that a theoretical passage through space-time could create shortcuts for long journeys across the universe. Wormholes are predicted by the theory of general relativity. But be wary — wormholes bring with them the dangers of sudden collapse, high radiation and dangerous contact with exotic matter.

BEYOND THE LIMITS

PHASE TWO

A THE Wormholes were first theorized in 1916, though that wasn’t what they were called at the time. While reviewing another physicist’s solution to the equations in Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity, Austrian physicist Ludwig Flamm realized another solution was possible. He described a ‘white hole,’ a theoretical time reversal of a black hole. Entrances to both black and white holes could be connected by a spacetime conduit.

ORY

In 1935, Einstein and physicist Nathan Rosen used the theory of general relativity to elaborate on the idea, proposing the existence of ‘bridges ‘ through space-time. These bridges connect two different points in space-time, theoretically creating a shortcut that could reduce travel time and distance. The shortcuts came to be called Einstein-Rosen bridges, or wormholes. “The whole thing is very hypothetical at this point,” said Stephen Hsu, a professor of theoretical physics at the University of Oregon. “No one thinks we’re going to find a wormhole anytime soon.” Wormholes contain two mouths, with a throat connecting the two. The mouths would most likely be spheroidal. The throat might be a straight stretch, but it could also wind around, taking a longer path than a more conventional route might require.

Einstein’s theory of general relativity mathematically predicts the existence of wormholes, but none have been discovered to date. A negative mass wormhole might be spotted by the way its gravity affects light that passes by. Certain solutions of general relativity allow for the existence of wormholes where the mouth of each is a black hole. However, a naturally occurring black hole, formed by the collapse of a dying star, does not by itself create a wormhole.

U O

H T

The first problem is size. Primordial wormholes are predicted to exist on microscopic levels, about 10 – 33 centimeters. However, as the universe expands, it is possible that some may have been stretched to larger sizes.

JO U R N EY

Another problem comes from stability. The predicted EinsteinRosen wormholes would be useless for travel because they collapse quickly.

“You would need some very exotic type of matter in order to stabilize a wormhole,” said Hsu, “and it’s not clear whether such matter exists in the universe.”

But more recent research found that a wormhole containing ‘exotic’ matter could stay open and unchanging for longer periods of time. Exotic matter, which should not be confused with dark matter or antimatter, contains negative energy density and a large negative pressure. Such matter has only been seen in the behavior of certain vacuum states as part of quantum field theory. “The jury is not in, so we just don’t know,” physicist Kip Thorne, one of the world’s leading authorities on relativity, black holes and wormholes. “But there are very strong indications that wormholes that a human could travel through are forbidden by the laws of physics. That’s sad, that’s unfortunate, but that’s the direction in which things are pointing.”

Wormholes may not only connect two separate regions within the universe, they could also connect two different universes. Similarly, some scientists have conjectured that if one mouth of a wormhole is moved in a specific manner, it could allow for time travel.

“You can go into the future or into the past using traversable wormholes,” astrophysicist Eric Davis said. But it won’t be easy — “It would take a Herculean effort to turn a wormhole into a time machine. It’s going to be tough enough to pull off a wormhole.”

E M W

However, British cosmologist Stephen Hawking has argued that such use is not possible.

“A wormhole is not really a means of going back in time, it’s

Oa short cut, so that something that was far away is much L closer,” NASA’sEEric Christian wrote.

Although adding exotic matter to a wormhole might stabilize it to the point that human passengers could travel safely through it, there is still the possibility that the addition of ‘regular’ matter would be sufficient to destabilize the portal. Today’s technology is insufficient to enlarge or stabilize wormholes, even if they could be found. However, scientists continue to explore the concept as a method of space travel with the hope that technology will eventually be able to utilize them. “You would need some of super-super-advanced technology,” Hsu said. “Humans won’t be doing this any time in the near future.”

THE WORMHOLE THEORY

NOLA TAYLOR REDD

Science fiction is filled with tales of traveling through wormholes. But the reality of such travel is more complicated, and not just because we’ve yet to spot one.

EMPTINESS_ _ _ _ _

SPACEX STARSHIP

SERVICE TO EARTH ORBIT, MOON, MARS AND

BEYOND_

OVERVIEW_ SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket (collectively referred to as Starship) represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo HEIGHT to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, with the ability to carry in excess of 100 metric tonnes to Earth orbit.

METER

PAYLOAD TO LEO

120m /

9m /

394ft

30ft

100+t /

220+klb

STARSHIP_

HEIGHT

Starship is the fully reusable spacecraft and second stage of the Starship system. It offers an integrated payload section and is capable 50m of / carrying passengers and cargo to Earth 160ft orbit, planetary destinations, and between destinations on Earth.

DIAMETER

PROPELLANT CAPACITY

9m /

1200t /

PAYLOAD CAPACITY

30ft

2.6Mlb

100+t /

220+klb

SUPERHEAVY_ The first stage, or booster, of our nextgeneration launch system has a gross liftoff mass of over 3 million kg and uses sub-cooled HEIGHT liquid methane and liquid oxygen (CH4/LOX) propellants. The booster will return to land at the launch site on its 6 legs.

70m /

DIAMETER

PROPELLANT CAPACITY

230 ft

9m /

3400t /

PAYLOAD_

PAYLOAD VOLUME HEIGHT

PAYLOAD FAIRING DIAMETER

PAYLOAD VOLUME

USEFUL MASS

The Starship payload fairing is 9m in diameter and 18m high, resulting in the largest usable payload volume of any current or in development launcher. 18mThis / payload volume can be configured for both crew59ft and cargo.

9m /

1100m3 /

30ft

3800ft3

72MN /

16Mlb

THRUST

72MN /

16Mlb

30ft

6.8Mlb

SATELLITES_ INTERPLANETARY TRANSPORT_

MOON BASES_

SPACE STATION_

Starship can deliver both cargo and people to and from the ISS. Starshipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fairing provides significant capacity for inspace activities. The aft cargo containers can also host a variety of payloads.

Developing bases to support future space exploration requires the transport of large amounts of cargo to the Moon for research and human spaceflight development. Starship is designed to carry these building blocks.

Building cities on Mars will require affordable delivery of significant quantities of cargo and people. The fully reusable Starship system uses in-space propellant transfer to achieve this and carry people on long-duration, interplanetary flights.

STARSHIP

SPACEX

Starship is designed to deliver satellites further and at a lower marginal cost per launch than our current Falcon vehicles. With a payload compartment larger than any fairing currently in operation or development, Starship creates possibilities for new missions, including space telescopes even larger than the James Webb.

ENABLING ACCESS FOR WHO DREAM OF FLYING EVERYDAY PEOPLE TO SPACE_

ENABLING ACCESS FOR WHO DREAM OF FLYING

R EVERYDAY PEOPLE G TO SPACE_ ENABLING ACCESS FO WHO DREAM OF FLYIN

R EVERYDAY PEOPLE G TO SPACE_

PHASE_

THREE

TWO ONE

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THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE ON SPACE DEVELOPMENTS

For a quarter of this 20th century, humankind has been successfully extending its presence into space. The landing of men on the Moon in 1969 during the Apollo 11 mission broke our perceptual blinders — we were no longer earthbound as our ancestors had thought for centuries. Perhaps the real home of the human species lies on the high frontier. Just as the application of fire and tools changed our primitive forebears, so space technology and its accomplishments force modern men and women to change their image of our species. We now are free to explore and use the universe to improve the quality of human existence. Our new self concept as ‘Earth people’ may energize global efforts toward space development. The technological achievements of NASA and other national space agencies, along with private-sector space undertakings, contribute mightily toward the actualization of our human potential. The exploration and exploitation of space resources are altering our human culture here on Earth. Such vision is necessary to put the endeavors of space scientists and technologists into a larger context. During the past 25 years, the feats of people in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the allied aerospace industry have advanced human culture. The next steps of space technology into the 21st century will transform that culture.

PHASE THREE

BEYOND THE LIMITS

Culture is a unique human invention. Our species created it to increase our ability to cope with the environment, to facilitate daily living. Thus, consciously and unconsciously, groups transmit it to following generations. The concept of culture provides a useful tool for understanding human behavior and its relationship to a particular physical environment.

CULTURE - A COPING

Human beings created culture, or their social environment, in the form of practices, customs, and traditions for survival and development. Culture is the lifestyle that a particular group of people passes along to their descendants. Often in the process, awareness of the origin of contributions to this fund of wisdom is lost. Subsequent generations are conditioned to accept these ‘truths’ about accepted behavior in a society; norms, values, ethics, and taboos evolve. Culture is communicable knowledge which is both learned and unlearned, which is both overt and covert in practice, of which we may have either conscious or unconscious understanding. On this planet, human culture has been remarkable for its diversity, so that those who would operate successfully in an international arena have to learn skills for dealing effectively with cultural differences. The point is that culture is a powerful influence on human behavior as people adapt to unusual circumstances.

T R A T

E G

The program manager for longrange studies at NASA’s Office of Space Flight has listed some of the unusual circumstances on the high frontier that might influence the creation of a space culture —

1_ Weightlessness; 2_ Easy gravity control; 3_ Absence of atmosphere (unlimited high vacuum); 4_ A comprehensive overview of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere (for communication, observation, power transmission, etc.);

5_ Isolation from the Earth’s biosphere (for hazardous processes);

6_ An infinite natural reservoir for disposal of wastes and safe storage of radioactive products;

7_ Freely available light, heat, and power; 8_ Super-cold temperatures (infinite heat sink); 9_ Open areas for storage and structures; 10_ A variety of non diffuse (directed) types of radiation; 11_ A magnetic field; 12_ Nonterrestrial raw materials; 13_ Absence of many Earth hazards (storms, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, lightning, unpredictable temperatures and humidity, corrosion, pollution, etc.);

14_ A potentially enjoyable, healthful, and stimulating environment for humans. As the director of the California Space Institute, James R. Arnold, reminded us in a Los Angeles Times editorial, “Space is out there waiting for us to try out new ideas.” In his view, the space station and other space bases to follow will give humans the time and place to learn, to experiment, to work, and even to play. In fact, the Soviets have already begun to do these things on their Mir space station. The formation of space culture has been under way now for over 25 years, and it is progressing rapidly.

SENSE OF SELF

COMMUNI CATION DRESS FO OD

TIME CONSCIOUSNESS RELATIONSHIPS VALUES Cultural anthropologists, for instance, offer a variety of approaches to cultural analysis. One method is called a systems analysis; here ‘systems’ refers to an ordered assemblage of parts which form a whole. Thus, in planning space communities, one might utilize eight or more systems (a schematic of Systems for Analysis of a New Space Culture.). That is, the new space culture can be studied in terms of systems that are used to indicate relationships — for association, or social grouping; for economic and political purposes; for education and training; for health and recreation; for leadership and guidance (this last being the transcendent or philosophical system around which the space community might be organized). In Living Systems, James Grier Miller has proposed a master paradigm for integration of both biological and social systems. Dr. Miller is currently engaged in research to apply his eightlevel conceptualization of twenty subsystems to analysis of the cultural needs of future space communities.

BELIEFS

MENTAL PROCESSES WORK HABITS

Another way of preparing for a new cultural experience is by examining typical characteristics of culture. Some of these for a space community might be sense of self, communication, dress, food, time consciousness, relationships, values, beliefs, mental processes and work habits. These ten classes offer a simple model not only for assessing an existing culture but also for planning a new one, such as a culture in space. Although there are other characteristics for cultural analysis (such as rewards), analysis of the listed characteristics would be sufficient to prepare for a startup space community, such as that of the crew at a space station or a lunar outpost. Because culture is so multifaceted and pervasive in human behavior, we cannot simply impose one form of Earth culture on a space community. Nor can space technologists continue to ignore the implications of culture. If the space population is to be increased and broadened, so should the composition of space planners and decision-makers.

THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE ON SPACE DEVELOPMENTS

PHILIP R. HARRIS

Current research in evolution indicates that harsh environments often result in innovation by species. The pattern of the past reveals that creatures are better at inventing and surviving when challenged by a difficult environment than they are when not challenged. The big jumps in species development seem to occur under such circumstances. Perhaps this will be true of the human race as we shift our attention from Earth-based to space-based resources. As the Apollo missions demonstrated, the very size, scope, and complexity of a space undertaking may be the catalyst for unleashing our potential and raising our culture to a new level. This may be the first time in human history that people can consciously design the kind of culture they wish to create in an alien environment slated for exploration and exploitation. The movement of people from their home planet to the ‘high ground’ will transform both our culture and the human person. The editors of Interstellar Migration and the Human Experience remind us that “Migration into space may be a revolutionary step for humanity, but it is one that represents a continuity with our past ”. Space planners can benefit immensely by utilizing the data base and insights of behavioral scientists.

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E A NEW The habitation of Skylab, Spacelab, Salyut, and Mir by a few dozen humans is the precedent not only for space station life but also for space culture. Whether astronauts or cosmonauts, they were humans learning to cope with a new environment marked by a lack of gravity. For most, it appears to have been an enjoyable experience, despite minor inconveniences caused by space sickness or excessive demands from experiment controllers on the ground. Whether inside or outside the space suits and capsules, these people learned to adapt and they proved that human life in space is possible, even practical. These innovators simply transported into space the macroculture of the country that sponsored their space voyage. The U.S. astronauts reflected American culture, while their Soviet counterparts carried Russian culture into these prototypes of future space communities.

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In the decade of the 1990s, the duration of missions and the number of humans in space will increase as more permanent types of space stations are constructed in orbit and expanded in size. Perhaps the Americans will name these initial space communities after their space pioneers and heroes, like Goddard, Von Braun, and Armstrong; while the Russians may name theirs after space luminaries like Tsiolkovsky, Korolev, and Gagarin. Then the real challenge of creating a new space culture will get under way. A major human activity of the 21 st century will be the building of space communities. Already, Rep. George Brown has a bill pending before the U.S. Congress that would authorize NASA to provide leadership in space settlements. The issue for consideration now is whether this process will be planned or unplanned. In the United States, for example, there exists a whole body of literature and research in cultural anthropology that could be most useful in the design of a space culture. Anthropologists are beginning to probe this new reality and to look for insights their field can contribute. Will NASA, for example, use the nation's anthropologists in the planning of a lunar base? If the human composition of that enterprise is to be multicultural, as is likely, will the agency call on international experts in cross-cultural psychology and anthropology? Perhaps NASA should join with its colleagues in the Japanese and European space agencies in sponsoring a summer study of behavioral scientists to address matters related to the emerging space culture.

Since culture formation seemingly occurs in response to the physical environment, consider briefly the situation faced by those seeking to establish the first permanent community on the Moon, a base from which we can explore other planets in the universe. It is a remote, alien environment. The long-term inhabitants would have to adapt their culture to cope with isolation, for they would be a quarter of a million miles away from home, family, and friends on Earth. The physical realities of life on the Moon would force its inhabitants to adapt their earthbound culture. Remember, the Moon lacks atmosphere, there is no weather there, and there are various kinds of radiation which require protective cover. Back in 1969, astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin confirmed that the lunar surface was firm and could support massive weight. During the last visit to the Moon, Apollo 17, the first professional scientist on these missions, Dr. Harrison Schmitt, conducted geological studies, so we now have some idea of the composition of this body. But there is much we still do not know about the Moon, such as the nature of its poles and whether any of its craters were formed volcanically. Before the turn of this century, it would seem advisable for NASA to follow a Soviet lead and undertake automated missions to gather lunar data if we are to plan adequately for the new space culture on the Moon's surface. At NASA's Johnson Space Center, scientists have a scheme for cultural expansion which begins with precursor exploration in a 1990-92 timeframe. It would require new technology development to exploit lunar resources and define the site for a research outpost and lunar base. The first two phases of site development would rely on automated and cybernated systems. In the third phase, permanent human occupancy by a small group of ‘astrotechnicians’ is projected; then, in the fourth phase, an advanced base with more people would result, possibly by the year 2010.

THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE ON SPACE DEVELOPMENTS

PHILIP R. HARRIS

Space gives us an opportunity to establish a living laboratory to promote peaceful international relations. For example, suppose the sponsors of a particular space station or base were to have as a goal the establishment of a synergistic society on the high frontier. Anthropologist Ruth Benedict and psychologist Abraham Maslow have already provided us with a glimpse of human behavior under such circumstances. Imagine a space community in which the cultural norms supported collaboration and cooperation rather than excessive individualism and competition. Consider space colonists who are selected because they demonstrate high synergy that is, because they are nonaggressive and seek what is mutually advantageous; they encourage both individual and group development; they operate on a win/win philosophy, or aim for group success; they share and work together for the common good. Such considerations take on special relevance in light of proposals for a joint U.S.A./U.S.S.R. mission to Mars. A space culture that espouses synergy might have a better chance for survival and development than one that did not. We should have learned something from the debacle of Fort Raleigh in 1594, the first ‘lost colony’ of our English forebears.

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To illustrate why serious preparations for a Moon base should include studies of space culture by social scientists, let us view the characteristics of space culture in the context of a lunar base.

SENSE OF SELF_

Self-identity and self-acceptance are manifested differently in different cultures. The comfort we feel with ourselves and others, the physical or psychological space we maintain between ourselves and others — these are products of culture. For an international crew on a space station, as an example, there would be differing needs for privacy or personal space. One can speculate as to whether an international community on the Moon should, for the purpose of fostering such comfort, be structured as an open or a closed society. Personally, I would recommend an open, friendly, informal, and supportive community, such as expatriates often maintain among themselves when far away from their mother country. (Though the society of expatriates may be seen as closed to the surrounding society on Earth, such a perspective would be irrelevant in space where humans are alone.) status in the community.

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Much of our terminology may be inappropriate for the lunar experience. In space, we will need a new vocabulary to replace ‘up and down’ and ‘day and night.’ Back in 1957, when German space science professor Hermann Oberth wrote his classic Man Into Space, he reminded us that we would have to change our ideas about construction, because “other laws prevail in space and there is no reason why the old architectural rules should be followed.” By extension and analogy, our language about construction and indeed most other subjects will have to change in a drastically different environment. Will there be one official language or several in use? If the first crews and settlers are international in makeup, is English to be preferred or should all be fluent in two languages? (If Americans were to undertake a joint mission to Mars with the Soviets, for instance, then both English and Russian would probably be required.) Certainly, we can expect extensive use of computers and satellites for communication, but what will be the procedures and the pattern of interactions between humans on the Earth and on the Moon, and how will the means of communication affect the cultural expansion?

FOOD_ The diet and eating procedures of a group of people set it apart from other groups. We are all aware of NASA’s pioneering in food technologies and compositions, so that even our own intake here on Earth has been altered by the astronaut experience. However, because of transportation costs, we will have to cut back on the amount and type of food cargo from Earth and depend on new closed biological systems to provide human sustenance. Hydroponic farming, featuring plants suspended in nets above circulating liquids that provide nutrients, may prove a boon. With traditional foodstuffs at a premium, the new culture may focus on high-quality and highenergy nourishment, thereby affecting the breed of both humans and other animals in space.

Although the lunar cuisine may not be as pleasant as that of the mining camps in the Old West, its preparation, presentation, and eating will surely alter the culture. One certainty is that food packages will not be disposable but rather recyclable. Let us hope habitat planners make up somewhat for the rations and regimen by providing a view of the Earth in the dining and drinking area. Or will there be any views from these modules buried in lunar regolith for protection from radiation?

Some scientists have described the Moon as an impossible environment for humans, but so was the Earth for the first living things there they coped by staying in the sea for the first two billion years! Humans will adapt to lunar conditions which require them to wear life support systems when they leave their protective habitats. That necessity will be incorporated into the new culture, and it will alter behavior from that on Earth. Dr. David Criswell, director of the Consortium for Space and Terrestrial Automation and Robotics (C-STAR), believes that astronauts in space suits are like disabled or handicapped persons, and that space planners could learn much from the field of rehabilitative medicine. Twenty-first century clothing styles on the home planet may be very much influenced by styles that develop for the lunar surface or for interstellar travel. Explorers and scientists in the Antarctic have tended to grow beards and longer hair. We wonder what lunar dwellers will do. Perhaps they’ll shave off all their hair to keep from having to tuck it into their space suits every time they don them.

TIME CONSCIOUSNESS_ The sense of time differs by culture, and yet lunar inhabitants will have to keep in touch with mission control. Will the 24hour time system prevail on the high frontier? Or will the exact sense of time gradually be replaced by a relative one, like that of traditional farmers who go by sunrise and sunset and seasonal changes?

That particular time sense would of course have a different expression on the lunar surface, where the ‘day’ lasts for 2 weeks and so does the ‘night.’ Because the axis of the Moon does not tilt as does the axis of the Earth, the Moon lacks seasons. Will the long periods of darkness and isolation incline the first Moon colonists toward suicide, as NATO has found its soldiers posted in northern countries to be? Will they suffer with manic behavior, as some Swedes do after their annual dark periods? If one needed change, one could move around the Moon from areas of darkness to areas of light. But what will happen to the whole concept of day and year, so much a part of the human heritage?

RELATIONSHIPS_ Cultures fix human and organizational relationships by age, sex, and degree of kinship, as well as by wealth, power, and wisdom. The first lunar inhabitants are likely to establish relationships on the basis of professionalism or their respective disciplines. They will be scientists and technicians, civilian and military. Theirs will be primarily work or organizational relationships, even if they are of different nationalities. Because the first colonists will be knowledge workers (that is, people who work with information and ideas), there is likely to be comparative social equality among them. Eventually, the founders will gain special status in the community.

THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE ON SPACE DEVELOPMENTS

PHILIP R. HARRIS

DRESS_ Culture is also expressed in garments and adornments. We may or may not want uniforms with mission patches, but lunar conditions will dictate certain types of clothing or space suits. They will have to be designed to serve a variety of purposes from protection to comfort. In 1984, for example, the first female to walk in space, cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya, commented that her space suit was not elastic enough and that she had to expend too much energy for each movement.

PHASE THREE

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VALUES_ The need system of the space culture will be unique, and out of it will evolve special priorities to ensure survival and development. In time, these priorities will form the value system of the lunar base. As the colonists move up on the hierarchy of needs, their values will change. The resulting value system will in turn influence the norms or standards of the lunar community-that is, acceptable behavior in that situation. It is these mutual premises that will determine whether the colonists are pleased, annoyed, or embarrassed by the conduct of their fellows. Eventually, this process will produce conventions that are passed along to each new group of lunar settlers, so that the preferred practices of privacy, deference, etiquette, and gift giving will be established.

For example, it is conceivable that these lunar pioneers may ban all talk of Earth accomplishments, happenings, or experience and focus only on what is done on the Moon or in space. They may learn to value the people on the space station, who supply them, more than remote people on the home planet, even when they represent the government. Because of their unusual view of the cosmos and the light/dark situation on the Moon, they may value artists more highly than technicians, for their capacity to express the pioneers’ feelings and longings.

BELIEFS_ People’s lives, attitudes, and behavior are motivated by spiritual themes and patterns which may take the form of philosophy, religion, or transcendental convictions. If the population of a lunar community is international, the space culture emerging on the Moon might include beliefs from the Earth’s religious traditionsprimarily Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and even Confucianism. However, since such belief systems are also reflections of new stages in human development, space dwellers may create their own unique form of “ cosmic consciousness” that raises the human race to a new level of being and perceives the oneness of the human family. For example, suppose a space colony were developed on the basis of a belief in synergy; the members would then be dedicated to creating a synergistic society through cooperation.

MENTAL PROCESSES_ The way people think and learn varies by culture because of different emphasis on brain development and education. Space culture, for instance, may offer humanity a rare opportunity to focus on whole, not split, brain development. Obviously, modern communication technology and satellites will have a primary position in information sharing and knowledge development. For education and training, the first lunar colonists will rely on computers and a data bank, as well as on a variety of modern media alternatives. Self instructional systems will be widely employed, and all in the group will be expected to share their expertise and competencies with each other as circumstances require.

Assuming that a multicultural community develops, a synergy may emerge between Eastern and Western cultural orientations to learning, so that an integration of logic, conceptualization, abstract thinking, and intuition may evolve. We can anticipate a new reasoning process being created in space, especially with wider applications of artificial intelligence. With the removal of many ground-based blinders and binders, the creative process may be unleashed and human potential actualized.

Human vocational activity will include the operation and repair of communication satellites, the creation of solar power stations, and the conversion of solar power into microwaves for transmission to Earth and subsequent reconversion to electricity. The first space stations, as well as bases on the Moon, and subsequently on Mars, will involve much construction using new space materials and designs to build habitats and factories, communication and storage facilities, and other necessary structures. The early space workers will focus on the transformation of nonterrestrial resources into useful supplies, such as oxygen, water, and cement. The nonterrestrial workers will use zero or low gravity to facilitate their labor, and they will take advantage of the vacuum. All of this work will require extensive use of computers and automation, and the “tin collar worker,” or robot, will be a principal ally. Such unusual work activities will influence the direction of the culture. The roles of knowledge workers and technical workers will probably be enhanced. Since those who get into the first space communities are likely to be highly selected, competence in one’s field of expertise and multi-skillfulness are norms that will probably emerge. The space culture will reflect these worklife changes in art and artifacts as well as in technology.

The new space enterprises and the culture thus created are a fruitful arena for social science research. Furthermore, these developments will have enormous impact on Earthbased work cultures. Large American corporations, from Fairchild and McDonnell Douglas to General Dynamics and Rockwell, are already gearing up for construction of the $8 billion space station, the staging area for exploration of the rest of the solar system. It may very well develop as a multinational facility for spacefaring peoples-a foretaste of 21st century life and culture.

THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE ON SPACE DEVELOPMENTS

PHILIP R. HARRIS

WORK HABITS_ One way of analyzing a culture is to examine how the society produces its goods and services and conducts its economic affairs. The work culture in space will be metaindustrial and will feature the use of high technology. In the beginning, the work will be performed outside using cumbersome space suits to provide life support. Or it will be done by robots, operating automatically or under the manual guidance of humans, who may remain in a protected habitat. On the surface of the Moon, for instance, this work may involve the mining, transportation and distribution, and processing of lunar materials.

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BUILDING A NEW SOCIETY IN SPACE

If any mission to the Moon or Mars is successful, how will people behave when they are free from Earth’s influence? I like Star Trek as much as the next person. Probably more. But one thing has always bothered me: life on the Starship Enterprise may appear almost utopian but the way the ship indeed the whole Federation is run — is essentially hierarchical. Humanity’s mission to ‘boldly go’ is being undertaken by a quasi-military dictatorship. For a series originally billed by its creator as ‘wagon train in space’, it is hardly land of the free. Is this really how we want to explore the cosmos and take our culture to the stars?

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Now that there are proposals for private missions to the Moon, a plan to send a married couple to Mars and space agency ambitions to fly a crew of six into deep space to explore asteroids, this is no longer a theoretical question. If even only one or two of these schemes come to fruition, in the relatively near future, humans are going to be living in isolation beyond the direct influence of governments on Earth.

Later this year, a conference is being held in London on Extraterrestrial Liberty, looking ahead to a time when we may find ourselves — or our children — living in colonies on the Moon and Mars, or locked aboard a starship on a one-way trip to a distant star. If space technology continues to advance, human communities beyond the Earth would seem to be inevitable. As a result, people are already beginning to contemplate how these societies might operate. The man who has written the book — actually several books — on the colonisation of space is the founder and President of the Mars Society, Robert Zubrin. His proposals for the establishment of human settlements on Mars are exquisitely detailed, from the first landing to the eventual terraforming of the red planet for a thriving civilisation. The Mars Society currently operates Mars bases on Earth — in the Utah desert and Arctic — to simulate the challenges facing Martian colonists. Like the joint Russian-European Mars500 isolation experiment in 2011, where crewmembers were locked away for more than 500 days, these ‘missions’ include a 15-20 minute time delay between the base and the control centre. Zubrin says the experiments have already given them hints about how extraterrestrial human civilisation might develop. “One thing we certainly discovered with our simulated Mars missions is that you can’t command a crew from mission control,” he tells me. “The crew has to be led by the commander, generally operating with a very consultative style.” As a result, they have renamed their mission control ‘mission support’, acknowledging that they are no longer completely in charge. “I believe it will not be possible to control a Mars base from the Earth, increasingly the thing will take on a life of its own.”

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It is a view shared by the Executive Director of the Institute for Interstellar Studies, Kelvin Long. As an engineer, his long-term goal is to develop plans for a starship but he sees the evolution of humanity into a spacefaring species as incremental. “I’m interested in huge space habitats, putting lots of people on space stations and sending them off to the stars,” he explains. “But you can’t do any of that unless you start with the small stuff and demonstrate that humans can live for sustained periods in space.”

“Mars is the test for humanity,” Long says. “It’s the test of our character and, to me, that should be the next destination for the human species — to colonise Mars, to set up a small station and develop it gradually. If we can’t crack Mars, then forget everything else that we have ambitions for.”

LUTION

So are humans up to the challenge — living 225 million kilometres (140 million miles) away, isolated from mission control as well as friends and family on Earth? When you share a house with someone and they fail to do the washing up, it’s a little annoying. Share a Mars base and someone fails to change the carbon dioxide scrubbers, everyone dies.

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The first people to visit Mars are likely to be selected for their skills and their emotional and physical suitability for the challenge. This will be a highly trained crew of ‘right stuff’ astronauts, used to doing what they are told. But, predicts Zubrin, it will evolve. “The colony might start out as hierarchical, with a base commander and second in command, but the process of nature is going to take it in the direction of freedom.” Things start to get really interesting when Mars explorers stay for years, rather than weeks, and the settlement becomes established. “People will have children… and at some point the Mars base breaks out of becoming a base and becomes an actual village — a real society with real people living real lives, with children in schools and community orchestras. All kinds of things that a base commander might think are completely extraneous.”

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Zubrin sees this as a natural, and inevitable, progression from hierarchy to locally accountable democracy and draws parallels with the colonisation of North America. “First you had independence from the West India Company, then ultimately from the British Crown and that’s how life is,” he says. “I think a Mars base may well start out as a bureaucratically structured entity but when you have people living real lives, they’re going to be pushing against the boundaries of that. And if you want to leave the colony, the easiest thing would be to get together with some other people and found additional colonies on Mars.”

As this human civilisation 2.0 expands, then the Earth may no longer seem so attractive — certainly to the second and third generation Martians. “I tend to think that Martians will not want to go back to Earth,” says Zubrin. “Firstly because Earth’s gravity will be very unpleasant for them, if they’ve grown up in one third gravity, and they will be exposed to a much greater risk of disease.” Above all, they will also no longer consider Earth as home. “The whole point is to create new branches of human civilisation,” Zubrin explains. “It’ll have its own dialect, its own literature, own jokes and sense of humour. It’s going to be different, a different culture, and I think that’s good.” But will human society 2.0 be any better? Or will it be the same brilliant, terrible, messy, artistic, destructive, ingenious, horrific civilisation our Martian colonists left behind? I suggest to Kelvin Long that perhaps Star Trek might be the society to aim for. “Many people would like to live in that sort of world, a utopian future,” he replies. “I’m sure the new world will be rockier than that but hopefully when we as Earthlings go into space, we won’t be fighting each other.” Of course, several thousands of years of history suggest this is a wildly optimistic, maybe even foolhardy, prediction. Even in the Star Trek universe, crew members frequently disagree. When humans get together — particularly in high-pressure environments — tensions are bound to arise. Future colonists will need to have the administrative structures, laws and social etiquette in place to avoid conflict, either through ruthless dictatorship or, more likely, discussion, compromise and some degree of consensus. At first they will probably take those structures from Earth but, ultimately, will develop new ways of living together more suited to their environment and, says Long, because space changes people:

“Astronauts often have a different outlook, having seen the Earth from above,” says Long. “When humans who go to Mars look back and see that pale blue dot in the distance and think ‘everything I’ve known is on that planet,’ it’s bound to affect them. And hopefully improve them.”

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WANT TO TRAVEL BEYOND THE EVENT HORIZON? Below are books which discuss the possible day-to-day life in

Explore the SpaceX website for updates on upcoming space travel technologies and missions... space, and the possible design decisions in the future which could either improve or set-back our mission away from Earth

‘Space Settlements: A Design Study’ NASA & Gerard K O’Neill

‘How to Live in Space’ Colin Stuart

‘Soonish’ Kelly & Zach Weinersmith