Back to the Moon: The Next Giant Leap for Humankind

Astrophysicist Silk (The Big Bang) offers an enthusiastic account of the future of space exploration, and specifically the role of the Moon in it. He speculates on lunar colonization, explains plans to mine the moon for rare elements, suggests it could be used as a base for further exploration, and imagines its potential as a “dazzling new horizon for leisure and sports activities” (hotel chains, he writes, are already “salivating at the prospect”). The scope of Silk’s suvey is impressive, taking in what societies on Earth will need to survive a million years from now, as well as the likelihood that aliens exist (it’s “debatable”), the obstacles to interplanetary travel, and what might lead to the annihilation of civilization on Earth: tiny black holes created by particle collider experiments pose a “small risk,” nanotechnology run amok poses an existential threat, as does AI that exceeds human intelligence—plus there’s the standbys, a thermonuclear winter and catastrophic climate change. Though not all of his predictions feel equally likely, his enthusiasm and accessible explanations bring the high-altitude thought experiments down to earth. Readers dreaming of civilizations in space will find plenty to consider. (Nov.)