Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Society & Social Sciences

BEYOND EARTH

Amanda Hendrix Charles Wohlforth

Our Path to a New Home in the Planets

Science and environmental writer, Charles Wohlforth, and astrophysicist, Amanda Hendrix, delve into man’s present and future colonization of another world, both within our solar system and, inevitably, beyond. The authors offer groundbreaking research and argue persuasively that not Mars, but Titan—a moon of Saturn with a nitrogen atmosphere offers the most realistic, and thrilling, prospect of life without support from Earth.

We are at the cusp of a golden age in space science, as increasingly more entrepreneurs—Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos—are seduced by the commercial potential of human access to space.

But Beyond Earth does not offer another wide-eyed technology fantasy: instead, it is grounded not only in the human capacity for invention and the appeal of adventure, but also in the bureaucratic, political, and scientific realities that present obstacles to space travel—realities that have hampered NASA's efforts ever since the Challenger fiasco. In Beyond Earth, the authors offer groundbreaking research and argue persuasively that not Mars, but Titan—a moon of Saturn with a nitrogen atmosphere, a weather cycle, and an inexhaustible supply of cheap energy, and where we will even be able to fly like birds in the minimal gravitational field—offers the most realistic, and thrilling, prospect of life without support from Earth.

CHARLES WOHLFORTH has authored ten books, hosts a weekly interview program for Alaska public radio stations (where he lives), and is winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science and Technology, among many other awards.

AMANDA R. HENDRIX, Ph.D., a planetary scientist, worked for twelve years at NASA's Propulsion Laboratory. She has appeared on numerous television programs and is the principal author of many scientific papers. Her original research is the source for much of the scientific information in this book.

Available products
Book Published 2016-11-15 by Knopf
Book Published 2016-11-15 by Knopf

Comments

“An engaging mind game. It’s hard not to get swept up in the authors’ wide-ranging enthusiasm for space exploration and settlement. They find optimism in some surprising places—even in the gloomy prospects for our current planetary home.”—Tom Kizzia, author of Pilgrim’s Wilderness

Highly approachable and enlightening.

A warning siren for global climate change. While telling a compelling tale about how a small cadre of brave and/or rich souls could colonize space, the real message here is that our best chance to preserve humanity requires facing up to the challenges here on Earth….Certainly worth a read.

“Beyond Earthgoes beyond anything yet written on the subject of space colonization, making clear how what once seemed an adventure is now an urgent necessity. A future human settlement on Titan will keep this book in its library the way early American citizens preserved copies of Common Sense.” —Thomas Mallon, author of Finale

Beyond Earth does not offer another wide-eyed technology fantasy: instead, it is grounded not only in the human capacity for invention and the appeal of adventure but also in the bureaucratic, political and scientific realities that present obstacles to space travel — realities that have hampered NASA’s efforts ever since the Challenger disaster. In Beyond Earth,Charles Wohlforth and Amanda R.Hendrix offer groundbreaking research and argue persuasively that not Mars, but Titan — a moon of Saturn with a nitrogen atmosphere, a weather cycle and an inexhaustible supply of cheap energy, where we will even be able to fly like birds in the minimal gravitational field —offers the most realistic and thrilling prospect of life without support from Earth.

Long ago I’d come to doubt that humans might ever leave this planet to homestead another. But this impeccably researched, imaginative, and gracefully written book seized me right from its introduction and kept me rapt to the end, rooting for our future. Beyond Earth is epic science writing, the rare kind that I can’t get out of my mind – or my dreams.

A welcome contribution to the ongoing discussion of the future of America's space program.

This back-and-forth between science and science fiction is nicely done…engaging.

Beyond Earth balances possible futures with a raft of facts on advances in spacecraft technology, robotics and space medicine. Crucially, [Wohlforth and Hendrix] parse the push and pull between cautious governments and gung-ho entrepreneurs, concluding that the two may ultimately add up to a propulsive combination.

From a leading planetary scientist and an award-winning science writer: a propulsive account of the developments and initiatives that have transformed the dream of space colonization into something that may well be achievable.

Well researched, the volume takes the compelling approach of discussing current and planned explorations of the solar system, then projects this work into a future scenario narrative that plays out over segments in each chapter...Written in lay language with clear explanations of planetary research, this offering will appeal to readers of environmental or space topics.

Beyond Earth is an important contribution. It’s a thought-provoking introduction to our unlimited future in the outer solar system and beyond.