1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910438111403321

Autore

Bignami Giovanni F

Titolo

A scenario for interstellar travel and its financing / / Giovannia F. Bignami Giovanni F., Andrea Sommariva

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York, : Springer, 2013

ISBN

88-470-5337-4

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (101 p.)

Collana

SpringerBriefs in Space Development, , 2191-8171

Altri autori (Persone)

SommarivaAndrea

Disciplina

629.4

629.43

Soggetti

Interstellar travel

Space flight

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction -- Motivations for space exploration and colonization -- Where to go: the search for habitable planets -- Interstellar exploration technologies -- Financing of space exploration and colonization -- The uncertainties.

Sommario/riassunto

This book develops a credible scenario for interstellar exploration and colonization. In so doing, it examines: • the present situation and prospects for interstellar exploration technologies; • where to go: the search for habitable planets; • the motivations for space travel and colonization; • the financial mechanisms required to fund such enterprises. The final section of the book analyzes the uncertainties surrounding the presented scenario. The purpose of building a scenario is not only to pinpoint future events but also to highlight the uncertainties that may propel the future in different directions. Interstellar travel and colonization requires a civilization in which human beings see themselves as inhabitants of a single planet and in which global governance of these processes is conducted on a cooperative basis. The key question is, then, whether our present civilization is ready for such an endeavor, reflecting the fact that the critical uncertainties are political and cultural in nature. It is written in such a way as to allow the non-professional reader to become part of the debate on the future of space programs.