Beyond dares to imagine a fantastic future for humans in space--and
then reminds us that we're already there.
Human exploration has been an unceasing engine of technological
progress, from the first homo sapiens to leave our African cradle to a
future in which mankind promises to settle another world. Beyond tells
the epic story of humanity leaving home--and how humans will soon thrive
in the vast universe beyond the earth.
A dazzling and propulsive voyage through space and time, Beyond
reveals how centuries of space explorers--from the earliest stargazers
to today's cutting-edge researchers--all draw inspiration from an innate
human emotion: wanderlust. This urge to explore led us to multiply
around the globe, and it can be traced in our DNA.
Today, the urge to discover manifests itself in jaw-dropping ways: plans
for space elevators poised to replace rockets at a fraction of the cost;
experiments in suspending and reanimating life for ultra-long-distance
travel; prototypes for solar sails that coast through space on the
momentum of microwaves released from the Earth. With these ventures,
private companies and entrepreneurs have the potential to outpace NASA
as the leaders in a new space race.
Combining expert knowledge of astronomy and avant-garde technology,
Chris Impey guides us through the heady possibilities for the next
century of exploration. In twenty years, a vibrant commercial space
industry will be operating. In thirty years, there will be small but
viable colonies on the Moon and Mars. In fifty years, mining technology
will have advanced enough to harvest resources from asteroids. In a
hundred years, a cohort of humans born off-Earth will come of age
without ever visiting humanity's home planet. This is not the stuff of
science fiction but rather the logical extension of already available
technologies.
Beyond shows that space exploration is not just the domain of
technocrats, but the birthright of everyone and the destiny of
generations to come. To continue exploration is to ensure our survival.
Outer space, a limitless unknown, awaits us.
