Category: Book Reviews

There are few people who have astronomical bodies named after them in recognition of their hard work over the years, so TV astronomer Sir Patrick Moore and space artist David A. Hardy are true space companions: both have asteroids named after them. Their friendship goes back half a decade.

“In almost all of the books that Patrick and I have done together, he gives me a free hand – he knows that I have a good knowledge of astronomy etc., and has complete confidence in my ability (especially, after 50 years!). In the early days, if he wrote the text first, he sent it to me or we would meet to discuss which parts needed illustrating and how. But in the case of Futures – you’ll notice that my name appears first on the cover – the choice of subjects and illustrations were mine. Patrick approved them, and then wrote the text. In many cases, I wrote some notes of my own first, which he then incorporated. As his health allows him to type only slowly and inaccurately now (on his 1908 Woodstock), he sent me the typescript, which I passed to my wife Ruth to transcribe into Word on her Mac, and I then emailed it to the publisher.”

Both Sir Patrick and David A. Hardy have been keen artists in their own respect. Patrick has a talent for writing clear concise books and features on astronomy, and he’s presented the BBCs “The Sky at Night” program every month for more than 48 years. He began as a school teacher, and humbled by his mother’s artistic talent for colourful drawings of sweet looking aliens canoing down a Martian canal or driving a car around on the rings of Saturn, Sir Patrick took to writing books and continues writing today.

They’re both in a good position to have watched space exploration change over the last half century, participating in and popularizing the many discoveries that have been made. So what is the better approach, making an alien looking world or making the detail as accurate as possible?

“Where possible, I try to do both. But remember that this is astronomical art, not science fiction, and in a book like this I would not include anything that is not accurate according to current knowledge, or at least scientifically possible. This means that paintings done in the 1950s or 60s showing, say, Mars or Titan with a blue sky were accurate for our state of knowledge at the time. Where I have included alien life or signs of civilization, it is based on scientific extrapolation. My favourite of these is the alien life on a planet in a globular cluster (page 99 in Futures: 50 Years in Space), as I believe the idea to be quite original: a type of photosynthesis producing oxygen inside balloon-like organisms, which then float in a carbon dioxide atmosphere.

“I think my paintings, whether traditional or digital, are pretty realistic, aren’t they? I don’t see any need to go as far as super-realism, as that can lead to rather bland art with little character or emotion. I have painted in the styles of Mondrian, Pollock, Picasso on occasion, but only for special commissions. Romanticism, yes – the painting of Antares (page 80) was, as stated, painted deliberately in the style of the Hudson River School of artists. I’ve seen some of those (often huge) originals while in the USA, and love them! I hope that the work of space artists can help to inspire the public to further exploration, just as those artists did in the great days of the opening up of the US West, which in turn led to the creation of National Parks, like Yellowstone and Yosemite.”

The planet Saturn with its rings is now becoming visible again after its period of invisibility in the eastern sky, and is certainly at the centre of attention right now as Cassini continues to send back “postcards”; most recently of the planet’s largest moon Titan. Yet some artists still paint Saturn inaccurately.

“Saturn is beautiful, with its rings, but views of Saturn from its moons in the media are almost always incorrect,” explained David, “since they show Saturn with the rings wide open, whereas from all but one of the satellites (Iapetus) the rings appear as a straight line.”

When asked what about his favorite planet, David said, “I suppose I would have to say that my favorite is Mars. I’d need time to think about the second part, but I would comment that on a frivolous note I thought of Michael Jackson, whose face has surely changed as many times as that of Mars over the years!”

As we press on into 21st century, we have many more planetary close encounters awaiting us. And David A. Hardy and Sir Patrick Moore will be right there to help us get a sense of what it would be like to stand in distant places of the Universe, and appreciate how much is out there, waiting for us to discover.

If you’re interested in Futures: 50 Years in Space, please read Universe Today’s review. You can also visit Amazon.com to read more reviews, or purchase a copy online (or Amazon.co.uk). You can also visit David’s website at http://www.astroart.org, or the BBC’s website for Sir Patrick Moore’s “The Sky at Night”.

David A. Hardy was interviewed by Richard Pearson.

Andrew Chaikin divides humankind’s history of space and his book into six chapters. The beginning shows a cross section of a model rocket based on Konstantin Tsiolkovsky’s designs and a wonderful portraiture of this figurehead of space travel. Thereafter comes a steady and well mixed parade of photographs of people, machines and views from space. It ends with photographs of Yang Liwei in his cabin and the launch of his Shenzhou 5 rocket. Many are related to outstanding achievements like the docking of the space shuttle to Mir though some are of crisis events like the damaged Apollo 13 craft. With the book’s chronological ordering, a reader can easily grasp the challenges and accomplishments that occurred in our escape from the bounds of Earth.

Starting each of the six chapters is a narrative that provides some context into the events of the time. Mostly this contains an overview of the political situation and the significant space events. The result is a perspective on the contents and importance of the following photographs. Also, annotations attached to each photograph clearly tell the reader about the subject and the date which it was taken.

The photographs themselves are all superbly clear. Most are in colour and are well sized and positioned to provide optimum impact. Some might be rare, such as one of the checkout of Apollo 14 and 15’s lunar module at the Kennedy Space Center, or another of the Soviet Union’s one man lunar lander. But, for the most part, the pictures are or, at least were, well known.

The main value of this book is its depth. It includes authentic photographs to cover the complete span of human space endeavours. This collection gives feeling to the power of the ever present natural forces and the precocious nature of our advances. However, even though this book was enjoyable to read through once, thereafter, much like a family photo album, it will likely stay put on a shelf or coffee table until friends come over and show an interest.

Though the international space programs of today may not appear astounding, just remember that, only a short time ago, the first human blasted into space. Since then, humankind has really made significant achievements. Luckily cameras recorded many of these and Andrew Chaikin, in his book Space – A History of Space Exploration in Photographs presents an excellent collection. This book will give you a wonderful excuse to ignore a cold winter and curl up in your favourite chair to look at all the marvels we’ve accomplished.

This review is for the paperback edition, which was just released. The hardcover version was put out over a year ago, but Universe Today didn’t get a copy to review.

To get your own copy, visit Amazon.com.

Review by Mark Mortimer

Given the chance, most people would be off vacationing in space at a moment’s notice. Spencer’s plan is to make the holiday a lot more enjoyable than a weekend spent bouncing about Mir’s functional but restrictive interior. He has visions of space yachts in races similar to the America’s Cup; sentinel robots with self aware artificial intelligence maintain the yacht and keep the passengers happy; lunar dune buggies provide for excursions outside the yacht, much like excursions for cruise ships; and simulation centres on Earth train and condition people to their out-of-this-world holiday. With all this at hand, space vacationing would be very popular.

And popularity is a key condition for Spencer. He expects more than 800 people per month will be vacationing, once the infrastructure is in space. For example, a significant portion of the text describes the design of his own yacht, the Destiny. This yacht allows for a small group of passengers to mingle or enjoy solitary relaxation. Rooms, suites and common areas are created by self inflating structures. Environments are conditioned by service robots running on batteries. Safety is ensured by the afore mentioned AI sentinel. Self inflating space ports provide ‘harbours’ for the Destiny and her sister ships. There are even descriptions of coastguard like vessels that ensure the safety of the space lanes. All this is to allow the very rich to enjoy the Earth’s luxuries (wine, dining and dancing) while in the nouvelle regions of space. With this emphasis on pleasure, there should be no challenge meeting the monthly quota.

Though Spencer’s image of space tourism is wonderful, his tie-ins to the practicalities is not. He expects space tourism to be well established by the year 2050, in spite of today’s obvious challenges of building and maintaining the International Space Station. Because of this, his book reads a little too much like science fiction. Almost every aspect of his infrastructure requires large leaps in current scientific and engineering knowledge. For example, his space vessel windows will have material that, on verbal command, changes to allow different sun/radiation intensities into the cabin. This would be more believable if there were an estimate of the effort to get to the required state. Another example is that his vessels include a squad of specialized robots. However, there are no trade off assessments made between the cost and effectiveness of robots to people. Perhaps most telling is his reliance on a low cost orbital access vehicle for which we’re all waiting. In consequence when regarding practicalities, the book is much more of a marketing flyer than it is a business plan.

I think that to get the most out of this book, you must set aside the practical and pessimistic side of your mind and let your free thinking self take over. A particularly rewarding is a first hand account of a lottery winner taking a space holiday in the future. This person starts with describing their training and conditioning through simulation centres on Earth. Next are meetings with fellow passengers at the launch area, safety drills, and the launch to an orbiting port. From there, the winner heads into the space yacht and spends a few luxurious days watching the Earth spin beneath them and the stars twinkle all about. Onboard and off board, activities keep everyone happy and entertained. Upon completion and debarkation, the lottery winner becomes an outspoken advocate for space tourism. In summary, this chapter is the most entertaining and the highlight of the text.

In conclusion, the supposition of the authors is that, today, there is a valid space tourism movement that can lead to a real industry in the near future. The people of this movement believe that by continually highlighting the potential benefits and applauding any steps made in this direction, they will have eventual success. Dennis Tito’s self-paid trip is the landmark they often cite. Also, one complete chapter is dedicated to the progress in space tourism from the mid-1960’s to now. Though this chapter appears to be the summary of the author’s day timer or diary, it still is an interesting and unique view into the progression of space tourism movement from a nascent bottom feeder to today being an oft seen marketing tool and front page head liner. Perhaps, the subtitle would have been more accurate as, ‘do you want to tour in space, then jump on the band wagon!’.

Space tourism, to some people, will be the final industry to succeed in the thrust to the stars. John Spencer and Karen Rugg in their book Space Tourism – Do You Want to Go? show how space tourism can lead the way. They present plans and ideas to build upon the existing space tourism movement so that a full fledged bit of fun can happen in space. Just think what your longest drive might be during a friendly golf game on the moon!

To get your own copy, visit Countdown Creations.

Review by Mark Mortimer

Let’s assume the money is available and a CISLunar economy is beginning. Where would your job be?

My job would be in two phases.

Phase I is the construction of some portions of the in-space infrastructure needed for the Cis-Lunar economy utilizing my method of in orbit assembly. This would be to construct things like a large solar electric tug (our company Orbital Recovery is developing a small tug to service the GEO comsat market now using conventional methods) that would move heavy payloads from ISS or another orbital facility to the Earth/Moon L1 libration point. This is the optimum location for a supply depot/fueling stop for a Cis-lunar economy. Another piece of hardware would be a reusable lunar lander. It is far easier to build a single stage to orbit vehicle for the Moon versus the earth (2.5 km/sec delta v versus 7 kilometers per second delta v).

Phase II is the development of in-situ resource extraction technology for oxygen, water, and valuable metals such as the Platinum Group metals described in the book. The “waste metals” such as iron, nickel, cobalt, would be used to build up infrastructure on the Moon such as large habitation structures, railroads, power distribution networks, and the like. In phase II we would also develop large heavy lift launch vehicles that would cycle from the Moon’s surface to L1. The amazing thing about President Bush’s announcement on January 14, 2004 was his putting forth the idea of vehicles built on the Moon that would carry us to Mars. If I build a launch vehicle there I am unencumbered with the requirement to make the launch vehicle look like a pencil.

How would you set property rights for Earth’s moon.

Property rights are a difficult subject that brings out heavy emotions on all sides. I would rather do something like establish lease rights for resource utilization on the Moon and then set up open bases that would be available for all who want to use it in favorable locations. There is this idea in the U.N. Outer Space treaty that the Moon is the common heritage of all mankind. Well I agree with that, so is the Earth. That does not preclude the use of the Moon’s resources by folks here on the Earth and there is no way that anyone looking at the problem can make a statement that governments are more capable at extracting those resources than private enterprise. It is funny in a way as over the long term resources are not the greatest value asset on the Moon, there are much more resources in the asteroid belt. The Moon and its environs will be a manufacturing center. Who owns the free space between the Earth and Moon? That is where the long term value places are.

If a CISLunar economy gets going, how long until we get to the next space body and mine it?

The value of the Moon is its time cost of money for the near term. It should be intuitively obvious to the casual observer that the Moon, being three days away, is a more cost effective place to extract resources in the near term than the Near Earth Asteroids (NEA’s). However, that being said, the NEA’s are going to be the much more overall cost effective locations, but only after the infrastructure gets started on the Moon as I described in your first question. I am very certain that we are going to be using Phobos and Deimos as well, both for resources and as a location for a very large base of operations to support Martian development. So, after giving you a long winded answer I expect that it will take less than a decade to do this, again after the Cis-Lunar portion of the economy gets on sound footing.

How could countries get organized to tackle lunar mining? Are there any projects on Earth that could serve as a model?

Well there are huge projects here on the Earth that are direct analogs and companies already in the business of doing it. Take Anglo American Platinum. Recently they spent $3.6 billion U.S. dollars to up the production of Platinum at one mine in South Africa by 74,000 kilograms per year. After the Cis-lunar economy is set up, these numbers are not out of line for a new mine on the Moon. Norlisk, a Russian venture, that owns the Stillwater Platinum mine in Montana is another company. Then you have the mines in Canada at Sudbury that also have the expertise and wherewithal to take on such projects. The Canadian government recently put out a document that stated that just at Sudbury there is over $100 billion dollars worth of nickel still in the ground there. Just one medium nickel/iron impact on the Moon has more Nickel and Platinum Group Metals than that. Again, governments are ill suited to this type of activity as the whole history of the Soviet Union illustrates. As an aside, all of the mines that I mentioned are mining asteroid derived platinum and other metals.

Will there be a point that we’ve wrecked our environment and we’re too late to start mining space?

That is a dang good question. The only thing lacking today to do mining in space, on the Moon, the NEA’s and elsewhere is will. We have the technology, we have the capital, we just don’t seem to be able to get our act together to do it. I think that the reason is that for the last 30 years the guys holding the purse strings have been scientists, concerned with the science value of our nearby celestial orbs. While I am completely supportive of science, science is an inadequate justification for a large scale move into space. It has to be economics. We have it within our power to, within 50 years, to completely eliminate most mining on the Earth, not by legislation but by competition with the much more plentiful resources that are out there waiting to be taken. We have the technical ability to do this and it would be an incredible boon to the terrestrial environment. The World Wildlife Federation just this past week came out with yet another proclamation that we are using more resources from the Earth than is sustainable. Well they should be our greatest supporters because the scale of resource available just between here and Jupiter is billions of times greater than we could possibly use, even with a much larger population than we have today. We do not have a problem with resources. We have a problem of a lack of vision by those in government and in the environmental movement to look at the issues in different ways than has been the norm in the past. The reason for this in the environmental movement is that they are wedded to the central tenant of the “Limits to Growth” that there are no technical solutions to our problem. This is manifestly untrue but is an axiom in those circles. Another reason is that the “space” community, lack the passion of the environmentalist in putting forward our solutions, and rounding up the cash to make it happen. However, I do see hopes out there today that this is changing, and I am doing my part to help. So in the end my answer is that it is up to us and that we do not have to get to that point and we will not unless we are incredibly stupid.

Knowing what you know now but putting yourself in the place of President Kennedy, what if anything would you do differently regarding the 1960’s space initiative.

That is easy, I would have cut off the stupid arguments between the different architectures that went on between Von Braun and Gilruth and went with Von Braun’s Earth Orbit Rendezvous method of going to the Moon. The Saturn I’s and IB’s were in production and flying by 1965 and had the lift capacity of a Delta IV to LEO. The Saturn V with a Skylab type station could have put into place the LEO infrastructure to enable the original Von Braun architecture as outlined in the famous Collier’s articles in the early 1950’s to have happened and the world would be a different place today. It was only in late 1962 that Von Braun caved in order to get us to the Moon by any method, that caused the screw up that has placed out entire civilization at risk by that one decision to abandon the build up in LEO infrastructure. Von Braun saw this in 1962 but knew that we had to beat the Russians and in the end, while we beat the Russians then, we are being beat today by the energy crisis that could end up engulfing the entire world in war. A heck of a bargain.

How does the new US space initiative to return to the Moon support your thinking?

Actually I am very hopeful. It is amazing that president Bush not only mentioned using the resources of the Moon for fuel but also the construction of spaceships there. Even Kennedy did not have that wide ranging of a vision. In execution so far it has been uneven. In February of this year, not long after the president’s announcement, former Congressman Robert Walker spoke at STAIF, a conference in Albuquerque New Mexico about the danger that the “stovepipes” of existing interests within NASA would kill this initiative just as they killed the earlier president Bush’s initiative. He is being proven right in this regard. I truly think that NASA headquarters “gets it” and is trying to do the right thing. The same cannot be said of some of the NASA centers. I ask each and every NASA employee and contractor who thinks that protecting their existing job is the most important thing in the world to ask themselves that is that more important than our collective future? NASA has a choice before it today. There is an old saying that goes “lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way”. Well today there is some great leadership at headquarters and in isolated pockets at the centers. Some are ready to follow just to survive and the rest need to get the hell out of the way.

We cannot go to the Moon or anywhere else with the current NASA/contractor infrastructure inherited from decades of organic growth. O’Keefe knows this, and the defense department knows this as well. It is going to take pressure from inside and outside to make this happen. Burt Rutan fired off the first shot in this new battle. We need those people like Paul Allen, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Robert Bigelow, and Walt Anderson who have the passion and the financial wherewithal to provide the competitive pressure on the existing system. Mr. O’Keefe and Craig Steidle and the people around them are liberating some funds to support the alt.space community as well. NASA has a chance to help make this happen the right way. I hope that each and every morning these guys get up and think that the future of civilization depends on them doing this right. I know that many of us out here think that way. Again, I am very hopeful that we will make this happen.

The book inside is Peter Grego’s Moon Observer Guide. You can read our review of this book here. To sum up, this book talks about types of viewing equipment, how to record observations and what are the neat things too look for. The book is quite comprehensive though for more detail, it’s the map you’ll need.

The Moon map by John Murray gives an index of over 500 prominent features on the Moon’s visible side. Of course in addition to rilles, craters and mares, you will see bright red marks for our probes and landers. This poster would look sharp mounted on any wall. North is at the top so all the names read easily for people in the northern hemisphere. Maybe there is another version for viewers in the southern hemisphere otherwise they will need to turn the map around and learn to read upside down! The map comes folded at 13 by 23 cm and unfolds to about 100 by 70 cm.

The last item, and itself a very nice touch, is a broad sheet with photographs of the Moon. There are 26 images on each side of the sheet which effectively makes for a photograph for each Earth night. An image is about 11 centimetres in diameter. One side has photographs of the view from Earth’s northern hemisphere and the other from Earth’s southern hemisphere though from a quick perusal there’s not much difference between the two.

With this package it’s quite easy and fun to look at the Moon in the night sky. Compare the Moon to one of the photographs on the sheet then go to the book to identify the features then go to the Moon map to pick up on small features or special locations. It’s simple to do and very informative. With Moonwatch – A Complete Starter Pack for the Lunar Observer, Firefly publishers have put together a great Christmas gift great or a good any-day addition to a club or group that wants to get into lunar watching.

To read more reviews, or order the book online, visit Amazon.com.

Review by Mark Mortimer

The main doomsday premise is the exhaustion of the supply of high density, easily transportable energy (read oil and gas). Not only is this supply nearing exhaustion, but the overall population of human beings is still climbing. Using a number of case studies, the reader is shown that the Earth, as a closed system, can’t support the status quo. We either need less people, a lower quality of life or more Earths. The last option, crazy as it sounds, is exactly what Wingo is proposing. Within our Solar System, there are bodies that contain many of the elements that are mined on Earth. These include the rare and valuable platinum group metals, especially palladium, which play a key role in today’s economy and would do so even more in a future hydrogen based economy. Thus we have a proposed solution to the envisioned energy doomsday; that is, to mine for the required minerals on asteroids, comets and moons.

Wingo takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of the history of lunar exploration and present day space flight capability (there’s plenty of wailing and gnashing of teeth about the unproductive Apollo missions and the total lack of interest in lunar exploration). By using the results from the Apollo missions and the Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions, Wingo makes a strong case for lunar mining. As a response to the doomsday premise and using the data gathered by these spacecraft, we’re presented with plans to use existing technology to get mining on the Moon. A detailed $16 billion list of components and techniques follows to explain exactly what would get done. Wingo thinks that governments need to provide incentives, minimize obstacles and encourage private enterprise to get mining.

The title is well suited. Like the earlier gold rushes in North America that did so much to open up tracts of land, a Moon rush, with people headed to the Moon to bring minerals back to Earth can also lead to all kinds of innovations. Further, by extracting, smelting and refining off-Earth, we can keep the harmful waste away too. This would be another benefit to life on Earth, as the subtitle states.

The book’s prose lacks a bit. It’s kind of repetitive and I got the impression that it’s a cleaned up version of someone’s class notes. There’s quite a lot of extraneous information, like completely describing the Otto cycle internal combustion engine, and a lengthy study of the stock prices of Boeing and Microsoft. I get how they’re relevant, but I’m not sure it was the best use of space and focus. Still, the chapters are clear and well laid out.

I liked Moonrush. It’s not too technical, and there isn’t a lot of hand waving. The premise is clear and well supported. The historical perspective lends credence and vision. Finally, Wingo does a great job of describing vehicles and methodology that ring true to me (as an armchair Moon miner).

Although Moonrush – Improving Life on Earth with the Moon’s Resources starts on a sour note – you know, the impending doom of the human race – it’s really a positive book that shows how Dennis Wingo has enthusiasm and faith that private enterprise will help get us back to the Moon with 21st century pickaxes and shovels to get the minerals we need without having to wreck our own environment. Maybe doom won’t be around the corner after all. If Paul Allen’s got some pocket change left over, he’d be well advised to kick some cash to help harvest the Moon’s resources.

To read more reviews, or order the book online, visit Amazon.com.

Review by Mark Mortimer

Much like an art gallery, this book is all about its illustrations. Most of these fall under the same spell. There is a foreground view of a planet’s surface (or other such body floating in space). Sometimes the landscape is littered with human artifacts or other alien artifacts. However often it is devoid of life altogether, much like a graveyard. ‘Above’ the surface, orientation of course being very relative, swirls a supernatural ether. ‘Day’ time views (again time being relative) have ghostly perspectives of familiar or quite unusual planets and asteroids whispering into or out of the ether. Night views are clear, without an obfuscating atmosphere, but don’t expect to see recognizable constellations. For example with Alpha Centauri in near proximity, patterns of other stars are quite original. Though the authors use this same spell to weave their magic many times over, each resulting visage is compelling and intriguing in its own right.

And with the universe as the subject matter there is no lack of material. In a similar manner to most astronomy books, this one starts with views of the Earth’s moon and then it soars out. Mars has extensive coverage. Following this are the remaining planets of the solar system and/or their asteroids. Most astronomy books don’t include pictures of surfaces hereafter as even Pluto hasn’t had any significant imaging done of its surface. But here is perhaps where Hardy and Moore excel. Rather than restricting themselves to well known visages, they push a reader into the unknown. There is an Algol-type binary where a small blue white star can be seen scavenging material from its neighbour orange giant. Or, one can see a city which is lit up at night by the glow resulting from a nearby globular cluster. Perhaps no images like these exist anywhere, but perhaps they do, and this speculation adds to the impact of each artwork. Maybe in hundreds of years such an image will be viewed by people or by a robotic probe. Until then we will have to rely on the skills of imaginative seers like Hardy and Moore to bring us such pleasurable treats.

The title itself is a bit misleading, but no deception is intended. The theme of this book is to provide images of what might be seen by future travels, hence futures is in the title. Hardy and Moore first conceived the idea of making an illustrated book of space art in 1954. Hence 50 years is in the title. They did complete a similar venture in 1972 and again in 1978. However, for the most part, this book contains original space art based on up to the date (mid-2003) space science. The final phrase of the title, that is, the challenge of the stars, is not the challenge of making the illustrations, but more the challenge to send people to view them. Here lies one of the main reasons for the authors to prepare another space art book. That is, they wanted to further encourage people to explore space. They believe that there is a real chance that our current opportunity may slip out of our grasp and not return for a very long time. And there is no deception on their belief in this.

There are a number of pleasantries for me, in reading this book. It is non-partisan. There are no flags, no corporate logos and no sales pitch. I also like the author’s ability to step outside the box of predefined life systems. For instance, one sees oxygen-filled sacs that are alive and congregate into rafts or mature into free floating spheres. All imagines have annotations and fall within a chapter of related prose so you always know the subject of the image. Missing however, is a description of how they translate hard scientific data into images. This information would have lent authenticity to the displayed views.

Allowing an artistic mind to travel the realms of space should always result in surreal results. With David Hardy driving the illustrations and Patrick Moore co-piloting via the prose, a reader gets a visual treat that is not so much a trick as just a well thought out gallery of space art. If you are curious about what an asteroid might look like at the moment it strikes the Earth’s surface or see the birth pangs of a new star, then Futures – 50 Years in Space, The Challenge of the Stars is for you.

To read more reviews, or order the book online, visit Amazon.com.

Review by Mark Mortimer

In an easy to read style, the book, for the most part, follows a chronological list of relevant events from about the year 2000 to the present. The main ones are Goldin’s last days, finding his replacement, the appointment of Sean O’Keefe, the loss of Columbia and the fabrication of NASA’s new vision which President Bush provided in early 2004. Names predominate throughout. Large quantities of people, projects, programs, companies and foundations appear in what sometimes seems to be a never ending parade. As quickly as these come, they go again. So, it is difficult to find a common thread or reason for their inclusion. Perhaps these names and/or offices are essential contributors, but this is not apparent. Nevertheless, the discussed events all directly contribute to the making of NASA’s new vision.

During Goldin’s time as administrator, NASA had many mandates and insufficient resources. The Challenger accident left the space shuttle program with a blemish and an even greater launch cost than originally estimated. The orbiting space station went through innumerable configurations and designs in an effort to please as many potential users as possible. Even NASA’s various field offices seemed more focussed on their own agendas than on a ‘corporate’ vision. Sean O’Keefe, Goldin’s replacement, had recent experience in financial auditing including a recent review of NASA’s finances. As the new administrator, his main assignment was to reassert fiscal realism. But to do this he needed priorities. And to set priorities he needed an achievable and specific vision. Thus, as much as O’Keefe replaced Goldin, so did O’Keefe need a vision to replace and rebuild from the current situation.

The premise of this book is that the creation of NASA’s vision was by the spontaneous and surreptitious meetings of a cadre of very junior hill staffers during coffee break and lunch. This seems difficult to believe, but the authors weave a very reasonable and continuous thread from this ‘rump’ group as they were called, through to more senior groups, senators and agencies and then up to the president. Again, names are liberally included, so this thread may be authentic, but still it seems a bit far fetched. Perhaps the most intriguing element is that NASA was apparently not part of this process until very late in the formulation. So in one sense it does seem a bit too fanciful to have junior staffers making a vision for an agency with an annual budget of $16 billion (can you imagine this happening for foreign policy?!). But, as they had nothing to lose and probably no alternate agendas, there is a ring of truth to this premise.

Perhaps equally fanciful is the claim that this new vision will get humans operating in space. Having a vision and a supporting budget is critical. Equally critical is the support of the elected politicians, who regularly change, as well as the support of other nations and their respective space agencies. But all of these will be needed for the duration. The authors rightly point out that this will be challenging. They even provide an excellent perspective on what to expect should either of this year’s presidential candidates win. Sadly, neither candidate seems solidly behind NASA and perhaps with this, the authors unknowingly provide more evidence contrary to their expectations than for it.

In their writing, the authors show they are non-partisan but very supportive of NASA’s new space vision. They acknowledge that senior NASA leadership provided access to information and verified personal communications, but they are also quick to point out that the contents is their own. The included DVD has memorable video footage of President Bush’s introduction of this vision, as well as Sean O’Keefe’s comments. This all lends authenticity to the contents and claim.

This book is good but it has its weaknesses. One item lacking is an index. Retracing people and events is almost impossible. Further, though the names and events may be very applicable today (the fall of the year 2004), expect them to become quickly very dated. With retirements and re-appointments, the parade of people just changes too quickly to make this book a useful reference in the long term. Also, perhaps the weakest element of the book is the lack of justification for spending nearly $100 billion for a program to send people to the Moon, Mars and beyond. Though more effort could have remedied these, the book is still a good read.

As the authors say in New Moon Rising, NASA needed and obtained a new space vision to direct its efforts. The authors provide a detailed and broad overview of the very large supporting cast that contributed to the vision that was initiated with President Bush’s speech early in the year 2004. Now, in the authors viewpoint, NASA and its new administrator, Sean O’Keefe, have what they need to ensure this vision becomes reality.

To read more reviews, or order the book online, visit Amazon.com.

Review by Mark Mortimer

The Soviet Union began by vouching for human habitation once they had lost the race to the moon. Patsayev, Dobrovolsky and Volkov occupied the first Salyut which was the first manned orbital space station. During their three weeks in this small metal tube like craft they kept busy with adapting to a climate and facility created by ground-based designers who had no real appreciation of weightlessness. These cosmonauts succeeded in performing nonetheless with one highlight being the growth of many plants from a variety of seeds. By sticking to a rigid and very busy schedule of work, exercise and maintenance, they added significant insight into living in space for long durations. Sadly though this didn’t come freely for the Soviet Union as the cosmonauts tragically died while descending in their re-entry capsule.

Skylab was the USA’s response to Salyut. This behemoth, launched via the last Saturn V rocket system, provided over 12700 cubic feet of living space. This was a veritable mansion as compared to the Soviet Union’s Salyut. Here Conrad, Kerwin and Weitz completed a four week tour that was as much for repair and reconstruction as it was for scientific experiments. In a ‘we can fix anything’ mentality, they unstuck a solar panel, unpacked equipment and set up experiments. Surprisingly, they experienced no space sickness, just like the first Soviets, though this turned out
to be very rare.

In Salyut 4 Grechko and Gubarev, had brought seeds, amoebas, tadpoles, fish and flies to share their living quarters in Salyut 4. After 30 days of scientific experiments, observation and maintenance activity, they successfully returned to Earth. This was the Soviet Union’s first success in manned station return. With Salyut 6 the Soviet Union launched over eighteen different manned missions during its almost five years of operation. Residents stayed for over six months with a complement, at times, of up to four people. The Salyut 7 and Mir missions built upon the Soviet Union’s successes. Space flight durations were extended. Equipment was better designed, while experiments provided more insight on how the human body reacts to extended times in space. The cosmonauts learned to focus and control their emotions to stay mentally and emotionally fit in such an unnatural situation. They could repair aged or broken equipment, recover from unexpected failures and add significant structural components. This time saw amazing progress but the end of the Soviet Union also spelt the end for Salyut’s and Mir’s roles of being stars for communism.

Nevertheless, political expediency still is keeping the space program alive. Russia deorbited Mir to save money. They then joined with the USA and other nations to pursue construction of the International Space Station (ISS). Though Russia was able to impart some of their hard earned knowledge the USA considered the contribution to be more a form of economic relief for the newly recreated state. From this it appears the political climates have almost changed places as the Russian space program, by necessity, is relying on capitalism for its very survival while the NASA bureaucracy appears to be more interested in keeping itself alive than in advancing the space program. Yet the ISS is in space and is contributing to our knowledge.

Though this book contains many of the technical issues of the designs of space stations as well as the sordid details of politics, its greatest provision is the human experiences that so richly embellish the story. You read of cosmonauts that try farming plants throughout the interior of their craft in efforts to yield a worthwhile harvest. There is a female fighter pilot/cosmonaut that ended up wearing a dress and being a hostess in space. Innumerable misses of docking craft demonstrate the riskiness of the whole affair. As well, the complete dependency on temperamental machinery constantly kept stark terror a scant distance away. Most of all though, the reader can see the triumph of human ingenuity and community where coming together is not just a convenience but a necessity.

There are many people who believe that Mars is the next step for the human race. Robert Zimmerman shares in the belief and in his book Leaving Earth he shows how the previous thirty years have given humankind an incredible wealth of knowledge on how to do this. Within it are many excellent descriptions of good designs and bad designs, heroic actions to save a mission and errors in judgement that nearly doom them. Yet the message comes through again and again, if we want to go to Mars we have shown we have the ability, we only need the will.

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Review by Mark Mortimer

Our sun produces vast amounts of energy through nuclear reactions. Due to this energy and the sun’s huge mass, the sun consists mostly of sub atomic particles and ionized atoms especially hydrogen and helium. These rocket and careen within the sun and then via convection and radiation they work their way out through the surface, the photosphere, and onward throughout the solar system. The photosphere, tenuous as it is, can be seen to resemble porridge with a fairly homogeneous mix of small light and dark patches. Occasionally, a large dark spot occurs. Seemingly harmless, this spot is quite often a burst of energy and matter that sends an energetic stream of particles and radiation out from the sun. Perhaps harmless in appearance these spots can disrupt radio traffic, fail electrical power grids and knock out satellites. But on the good side, these spots are the main subjects for sun observers.

Using sun spots, observers can assign a latitude and longitude coordinate system to the sun. They can define the sun’s rotation rate and its ‘mood’. A sullen sun may have only one or even no sunspots on its surface. At other times, the playful sun could have hundreds of sunspots. This activity cycles through its minimum and maximum over an eleven year period. However the sun can quiet down for a longer time. Between 1645 and 1715 there was almost no sun spot activity. We refer to this time as a little ice age here on Earth due to the much cooler temperatures experienced. Of course, the opposite can happen. Unusually high sun spot activity occurred in the years 1000 to 1250 and a warmer climate allowed Vikings to settle in Greenland. So, not only are sun spots the main characteristic of our sun, they also have a direct influence on the earth’s climate. There can’t be a much better reason for observers to continue their studies!

One of the main benefits of observing the sun is that minimal equipment is required. Some observations are achievable with binoculars and a few sheets of paper. A small refractor telescope is better than binoculars, but due to the sun’s energy, small is actually better than large. And using paper with appropriate grids and scales on it aids in locating and sizing sun spots that do appear. Then, using the techniques described in this book, a viewer can characterize and record their observations in a manner that is useful for their own benefit and in a manner that would be advantageous to professional bodies, if the observer wanted to share their work. This isn’t that far fetched, as the author herself contributes as an amateur and then works with an organization that makes use of amateur observations.

Aside from sun spots, the other great viewing attraction of the sun is its eclipse. Because of its rarity and its spectacular sight, the eclipse draws people from everywhere in the world. If you are fortunate enough to be on a path of totality, you will see the sun go through a number of distinct phases. It starts with an annular eclipse, where the moon moves to block the sun’s light. When the moon almost exactly covers the sun only some of the photosphere is visible at the moon’s edges and the moon appears to have a ring of fire about its circumference. Should a valley on the moon allow a ray of light to sparkle and flash in the sun’s normal white colour with the beads somewhat like a diamond ring. At totality the photosphere is completely blocked and the ghostly corona shimmers and shines in vibrant ribbons floating around the ring of the moon. Then these phases repeat themselves in reverse order, as the moon continues in its orbit past the sun. The solar eclipse is truly worth travelling to see.

To learn a bit about the sun and of the pleasures in viewing it then Pam Spence’s book, Sun Observer’s Guide, is a handy reference. Sometimes it can be repetitive in its instructions and there is very little on why the sun does what it does. However, there is more than sufficient detail on how to look, what to look for and what the value is of the observations. The unaided and unknowing eye may consider the sun a rock steady source of light and heat, but an educated viewer, with the help of this book, will know better.

To read more reviews, or order the book online, visit Amazon.com.

Review by Mark Mortimer