Author: Christopher E. Mason
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262543842
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 295
Book Description
An argument that we have a moral duty to explore other planets and solar systems--because human life on Earth has an expiration date. Inevitably, life on Earth will come to an end, whether by climate disaster, cataclysmic war, or the death of the sun in a few billion years. To avoid extinction, we will have to find a new home planet, perhaps even a new solar system, to inhabit. In this provocative and fascinating book, Christopher Mason argues that we have a moral duty to do just that. As the only species aware that life on Earth has an expiration date, we have a responsibility to act as the shepherd of life-forms--not only for our species but for all species on which we depend and for those still to come (by accidental or designed evolution). Mason argues that the same capacity for ingenuity that has enabled us to build rockets and land on other planets can be applied to redesigning biology so that we can sustainably inhabit those planets. And he lays out a 500-year plan for undertaking the massively ambitious project of reengineering human genetics for life on other worlds. As they are today, our frail human bodies could never survive travel to another habitable planet. Mason describes the toll that long-term space travel took on astronaut Scott Kelly, who returned from a year on the International Space Station with changes to his blood, bones, and genes. Mason proposes a ten-phase, 500-year program that would engineer the genome so that humans can tolerate the extreme environments of outer space--with the ultimate goal of achieving human settlement of new solar systems. He lays out a roadmap of which solar systems to visit first, and merges biotechnology, philosophy, and genetics to offer an unparalleled vision of the universe to come.
The Next 500 Years
Author: Christopher E. Mason
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262543842
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 295
Book Description
An argument that we have a moral duty to explore other planets and solar systems--because human life on Earth has an expiration date. Inevitably, life on Earth will come to an end, whether by climate disaster, cataclysmic war, or the death of the sun in a few billion years. To avoid extinction, we will have to find a new home planet, perhaps even a new solar system, to inhabit. In this provocative and fascinating book, Christopher Mason argues that we have a moral duty to do just that. As the only species aware that life on Earth has an expiration date, we have a responsibility to act as the shepherd of life-forms--not only for our species but for all species on which we depend and for those still to come (by accidental or designed evolution). Mason argues that the same capacity for ingenuity that has enabled us to build rockets and land on other planets can be applied to redesigning biology so that we can sustainably inhabit those planets. And he lays out a 500-year plan for undertaking the massively ambitious project of reengineering human genetics for life on other worlds. As they are today, our frail human bodies could never survive travel to another habitable planet. Mason describes the toll that long-term space travel took on astronaut Scott Kelly, who returned from a year on the International Space Station with changes to his blood, bones, and genes. Mason proposes a ten-phase, 500-year program that would engineer the genome so that humans can tolerate the extreme environments of outer space--with the ultimate goal of achieving human settlement of new solar systems. He lays out a roadmap of which solar systems to visit first, and merges biotechnology, philosophy, and genetics to offer an unparalleled vision of the universe to come.
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262543842
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 295
Book Description
An argument that we have a moral duty to explore other planets and solar systems--because human life on Earth has an expiration date. Inevitably, life on Earth will come to an end, whether by climate disaster, cataclysmic war, or the death of the sun in a few billion years. To avoid extinction, we will have to find a new home planet, perhaps even a new solar system, to inhabit. In this provocative and fascinating book, Christopher Mason argues that we have a moral duty to do just that. As the only species aware that life on Earth has an expiration date, we have a responsibility to act as the shepherd of life-forms--not only for our species but for all species on which we depend and for those still to come (by accidental or designed evolution). Mason argues that the same capacity for ingenuity that has enabled us to build rockets and land on other planets can be applied to redesigning biology so that we can sustainably inhabit those planets. And he lays out a 500-year plan for undertaking the massively ambitious project of reengineering human genetics for life on other worlds. As they are today, our frail human bodies could never survive travel to another habitable planet. Mason describes the toll that long-term space travel took on astronaut Scott Kelly, who returned from a year on the International Space Station with changes to his blood, bones, and genes. Mason proposes a ten-phase, 500-year program that would engineer the genome so that humans can tolerate the extreme environments of outer space--with the ultimate goal of achieving human settlement of new solar systems. He lays out a roadmap of which solar systems to visit first, and merges biotechnology, philosophy, and genetics to offer an unparalleled vision of the universe to come.
Agricultural Conservation Program
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 732
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 732
Book Description
Official Livestock Program and Entry List
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agricultural exhibitions
Languages : en
Pages : 214
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agricultural exhibitions
Languages : en
Pages : 214
Book Description
500 Years, 500 Programs
Author: España. Comisión Nacional para la Conmemoración del V Centenario del Descubrimiento de América
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 81
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 81
Book Description
First-[fourth] Annual Report of Auditor of State Printing for the Year Ending December 31, 1906[-1909].
Author: Maine. Auditor of State Printing
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Printing, Public
Languages : en
Pages : 44
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Printing, Public
Languages : en
Pages : 44
Book Description
Program
Author: San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Concerts
Languages : en
Pages : 758
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Concerts
Languages : en
Pages : 758
Book Description
500 Years, 500 Programs
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Columbus Quincentenary, 1992-1993
Languages : en
Pages : 81
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Columbus Quincentenary, 1992-1993
Languages : en
Pages : 81
Book Description
Public Documents
Author: Kansas
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Kansas
Languages : en
Pages : 808
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Kansas
Languages : en
Pages : 808
Book Description
Regulatory Program of the United States Government
Author: United States. Office of Management and Budget
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Administrative agencies
Languages : en
Pages : 800
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Administrative agencies
Languages : en
Pages : 800
Book Description
Report
Author: Kansas. Secretary of State
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Kansas
Languages : en
Pages : 92
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Kansas
Languages : en
Pages : 92
Book Description