Spacefarers: How Humans Will Settle the Moon, Mars, and Beyond
Christopher Wanjek
More than 50 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, why is there so little human presence in space? Will we ever reach Mars? What will it take to become a multi-planet species, colonizing the Solar System and traveling to other stars?
This lecture meets these questions head on with a discourse of what we can expect in the next 30 years based not simply on what is possible, but rather on what is practical and thus plausible when considering the biological, economic, and philosophical concerns that adjoin the engineering challenges of space habitation and travel.
We will be returning to the Moon and exploring Mars in the coming decades, given the potential scientific and commercial bonanza. Private industry already is taking a leading role and earning profits from human space activity. This can be a sustainable venture and a natural extension of Earth-bound science, business, and leisure.
Join us as the noted author discusses plans for factories and hotels in low-Earth orbit, as well as science, mining, and tourism on the Moon modeled on activities in Antarctica. In addition, explore a vision of slow, steady development of science bases on Mars, to be followed by settlements if Martian gravity will permit reproduction and healthy child development.
Host: Frank Summers, Space Telescope Science Institute
Recorded live on Tuesday, April 6, 2021
More information: www.stsci.edu/public-lectures
