Series:

Springer Praxis Books

2 total works

Cover of Next Stop Mars

Next Stop Mars

by Giancarlo Genta

Published 6 January 2017
This book covers the possible manned mission to Mars first discussed in the 1950s and still a topic of much debate, addressing historic and future plans to visit the Red Planet. Considering the environmental dangers and the engineering and design needed for a successful trip, it covers every aspect of a possible mission and outpost. The chapters explain the motivations behind the plan to go to Mars, as well as the physical factors that astronauts on manned missions will face on Mars and in transit. The author provides a comprehensive exposure to the infrastructure needs on Mars itself, covering an array of facilities including power sources, as well as addressing earth-based communication networks that will be necessary. Mechanisms for return to Earth are also addressed.
As the reality of a manned Mars voyage becomes more concrete, the details are still largely up in the air. This book presents an overview of proposed approaches past, present, and future, both from NASA and, increasingly, from other space agencies and private companies. It clearly displays the challenges and the ingenious solutions involved in reaching Mars with human explorers.

Cover of Technology and the Growth of Civilization

Our natural world has been irretrievably altered by humans, for humans. From domesticated wheat fields to nuclear power plants and spacecraft, everything we see and interact with has in some way been changed by the presence of our species, starting from the Neolithic era so many centuries ago. 

This book provides a crash course on the issues and debates surrounding technology’s shifting place in our society. It covers the history of our increasingly black-box world, which some theorize will end with technology accelerating beyond our understanding. At the same time, it analyzes competing trends and theories, the lack of scientific knowledge of large sections of the population, the dogmas of pseudoscience, and the growing suspicion of science and technology, which may inevitably lead to scientific stagnation. 

What will the future of our civilization look like? How soon might scientific acceleration or stagnation arrive at our doorstep, and just how radically will such technological shifts change our culture? These are issues that we must address now, to insure our future goes the way we choose.