Beyond: Our Future in Space Read Free Page A

be alone since, as a group, we are so utterly alone. But at a break in our construction, I wander away from the dome. The only way to walk through the convoluted landscape is to follow a small stream. Looking around, I notice something strange. There are no trees. I bend down to scoop up some pebbles and rocks. Their mineral forms are familiar and reassuring; at least geology is universal.
    Out of the corner of my eye, movement. I look more closely. What I thought was a mat of moss is actually a delicate web of tendrils that are moving and growing. They undulate and turn, like a carpet that’s weaving itself. It seems chaotic, but suddenly the tendrils form spirals and complex geometric shapes. Then, just as suddenly, the patterns disappear. I stare, transfixed.

Index
    Page numbers listed correspond to the print edition of this book. You can use your device’s search function to locate particular terms in the text.
    Page numbers starting with 265 refer to endnotes.
Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations.
    Able (monkey), 47–48
    Aboriginal Australians, 8
    abstract thinking, 13–17, 18–19
    Abu Dhabi, UAE, 106
    Adams, Mike, 82
    adenine, 6
    Advanced Robotic Development Lab, 206
    aerodynamics, 26, 66–73, 82–83
    aesthetic judgment, 15
    A4 rocket, 33
    Africa, 15–16, 120
    as origin site for early human dispersion, 5, 7–8, 11, 15, 118, 186, 202, 218, 262
    Air Force, US, 239
    covert projects of, 69, 72
    in rocket development, 36–37, 48 , 71, 85
    Rutan’s work for, 82
    in space exploration, 50, 73, 272
    airplanes:
    development of, 69–72, 83, 262
    safety of, 108 , 109
    Albert (monkey), 47
    Alcubierre, Miguel, 229–30
    Aldrin, Buzz, 108, 170
    aliens, extraterrestrial:
    aggressive, 259
    hyperintelligent, 258, 260, 260 , 262
    hypothetical categorization of, 252–57
    lack of evidence of, 236–37, 239–44, 257, 291
    potential to communicate with, 52, 189, 234–35, 238, 239 , 246
    potentially dead civilizations of, 243–44
    search for, 186–91, 189 , 236–44, 246 , 291
    aliens, extraterrestrial ( continue d )
    speculative number of, 188, 233–35
    as unrecognizable, 216, 244
    Allen, John, 192–93
    Allen, Paul, 84–85, 188
    Allen Telescope Array, 188–89, 243
    Alling, Abigail, 194
    Alpha Centauri system, 132 , 133, 215, 216 , 219–20, 222, 225–26
    Alzheimer’s disease, 115
    Amazon, 79, 103
    Americas:
    European settlement of, 204, 243, 250
    population dispersion into, 8, 218
    amino acids, 8
    Amish, 203
    ammonia, 125, 173
    Anaxagoras, 17–18, 17
    Anderson, Eric, 275
    Anderson, Laurie, 76
    Anders, William, 270
    Andes mountains, 172
    population adaptation to altitude in, 119
    Andreessen, Marc, 79
    Andrews, Dana, 223
    animals:
    in Biosphere 2, 193
    evolution of, 172
    human beings compared to, 186, 262
    minimum viable population in, 201
    in religious sacrifice, 119
    in scientific research, 46–49, 250–51
    Anonym, Lepht, 207
    Ansari, Anousheh, 91
    Antarctica, 169
    Antares rocket, 275
    anthropocentrism, 244, 291
    antimatter, 221–22, 254
    ants, 193
    apes, human beings compared to, 10
    Apollo 1, loss of crew of, 43, 107
    Apollo 11, 13, 30, 45, 56
    Apollo program, 30, 42–44, 49–51, 55, 64 , 108, 157–58, 158 , 170, 176, 196, 219, 270, 271, 272
    Arabs, use of rockets by, 23
    Archon Genomics X Prize, 93
    Archytas, 19, 22
    Area 51, 238, 240
    Arecibo Observatory, 239 , 243, 292–93
    Ares, 163
    Ariane 5 rocket, 113
    Arianespace, 106
    Aristarchus, 19
    Aristotle, 19–20
    Arizona, University of, 193
    Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of, 156
    arms race, 24, 36, 139
    Armstrong, Neil, 43, 45, 56, 71, 74, 108, 158
    Army, German, Ordnance Department, 32
    Army, US:
    in rocket development, 35, 36
    in space exploration, 50
    Art of Electronics, The (Horowitz), 237
    artificial intelligence (AI), 179, 208, 245, 249, 259
    human intelligence surpassed by, 258
    Artist in Space program, 74, 76
    Artsutanov, Yuri, 149
    Asia, population dispersion into, 7–8, 11, 15, 218
    Asimov, Isaac, 94
    Asteroid Redirect Mission, 104–5,