Beyond

Starred review from February 16, 2015
As governments debate the value of funding space science, Impey (Humble Before the Void) delivers a timely book covering a wealth of reasons to care about space and what we could accomplish there if we accept the challenge. The “profound human urge to explore” is in our genes, Impey says. Rockets provide a way to escape Earth, but the Cold War “Space Race” between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. highlighted the struggle to balance funding—as well as competing motivations—between military and civilian space science, which has left NASA in its current “doldrums.” Currently, private space companies such as SpaceX and Virgin Galactic offer potential new routes off Earth, while others explore ways to settle “ Moon, Mars, and beyond”—though Impey cautions the reader about the inherent risks, particularly that “people are going to die.” Space travelers will face long-term biological troubles, including bone loss, weakened immune systems, and genetic isolation. They’ll also confront questions of identity, diplomacy, and ownership, especially as more nations and businesses enter space. With vivid writing that skillfully walks the line between visionary and pragmatic, Impey finds equal opportunity for both humans and robotic explorers on a journey that could not only teach us about new worlds, but “how to be better caretakers of this one.” Illus.

May 1, 2015

Impey (University Distinguished Professor and Deputy Head, Astronomy, Univ. of Arizona) agrees with Stephen Hawking, whose zero-gravity sojourns he chronicles, that "the human race doesn't have a future unless it goes into space." The author's investigation of our possibilities profiles the heroes--many of them unsung--who made past space exploration an exciting but at times deadly voyage and are the same kinds of people pioneering consumer travel in space now. The history portion of the book includes Ming dynasty misadventures, Nazi rocketry, the Cold War, animals in space, moon landings, recent voyages to planets, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's "doldrums." Today's space entrepreneurship is addressed in a fascinating look at an exciting but risk-filled and regulation-stifled industry run by the likes of Elon Musk and Richard Branson. Practical steps toward establishing space as home are explored, too, in looks at astrobiology, the search for exoplanets, the physical and legal feasibility of a permanent lunar or planetary habitation, space elevators, and other technologies, and even the difficulties (many!) of sex in space. Impey also describes the frightening aspect of the pioneers becoming a different species. In an enjoyable writing style, the author exhaustively examines what seems like every obstacle to life "beyond," creating an unusual and at turns startling and funny read. VERDICT Popular science fans will eat this up. Great for public libraries.--Henrietta Verma, Library Journal

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