Lanterna Rally

Author: Donald Goldsmith

Publisher:

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13:

Throughout history, humans have dreamt of colonizing other worlds. Explorers have eyed the heavens and have devised ingenious ways to travel into the skies, first to the Earth's moon, then to the windswept plains of Mars, now to the ice-covered ocean of Jupiter's moon Europa and the outer confines of the solar system -- and even beyond, to the boundaries of our Milky Way galaxy. As a new generation of adventures prepares to cast its lot into space, challenging previously accepted models of space exploration, Voyage to the Milky Way explores the future of space travel from both the scientific and cultural points of view. It discusses not only our boldest and most romantic visions to date, but also the myths and illusions that have informed them and the technologies we will utilize to fulfill them. Award-winning astronomer and author Donald Goldsmith discusses and analyzes our impulse to colonize the solar system; early space-flight visionaries and rocket builders; space colony designs; rocket ship designs; robots and cyborgs; the role of private entrepreneurs in the future of space travel and development; faster-than-light travel; and the strong possibility of a twenty-first-century flight to a nearby star.