CHAPTER OUTLINE

Chapter 1. Introduction.

Chapter 2. The standard case for and against exploration. Why appeals to human nature fail rhetorically. The ideological objections: big science and technology are unwise, space exploration is a symptom of the problem. The social objections: the money, time and effort spent on exploration could be put to better social uses. The standard response: satellites warn us of dangers, help us monitor our environment and resources, and in general improve our lives; spinoffs create new industries and also improve our lives. Why the standard case falls short of the mark. New objections. Ideological: the refusal to accept new (space) science and technology to clean the mess caused by science and technology; what we need is a change of attitude towards the environment. Social: the practicality of the standard case leaves out the heart of space exploration (exploration of the planets, etc.). A response: The serendipity of science will justify exploration -- long term benefits. Why the response does not work: historical anecdotes alone do not make a case for serendipity.

Chapter 3. The philosophy of exploration. Philosophy of science and the nature of science: science as a dynamic enterprise. As our scientific views of the world change, so do our panorama of problems, solutions and opportunities: This is the origin of serendipity. Illustrations of the conclusion that serendipity is a natural consequence of a dynamic science. Response to social and ideological critics. Challenge: the philosophical case covers fundamental science, but space science generally does not qualify.

Chapter 4. First challenge: planetary science. Understanding the global environment. Example of CO2. Carbon cycles. There is no runaway greenhouse because of environmental sinks. All these factors cannot be understood in isolation. We need to determine how they interact: a global understanding. The Earth as a planet. Global environmental understanding requires knowledge of energy flows through the planet. This knowledge requires that we know what a planet is: its internal structure and energy, its history. Geological history determines the plausibility of plate tectonics and other mechanisms. Understanding the solar system. To understand a planet we need several examples. The solar system as a natural laboratory to test our ideas about the Earth. Mission to Earth. Conclusion: To understand serious environmental problems we need to explore space.

Chapter 5. Second challenge: physics and astronomy in space. A historical objection against space science: The distinction between fundamental and applied science. (1) Serendipity can be guaranteed only by fundamental science, for it is at this level that changes in our point of view take place. (2) Space physics is not fundamental (in contrast to particle physics). Reply to points (1) and (2). To (1): applications of fundamental science in space challenge it and lead to its transformation. To (2): Why space physics and astronomy are increasingly seen as fundamental. Space science and the new cosmology. Fundamental physics, including particle physics, needs the resolution of the new cosmological problems. The present situation as a continuation of a long history of contributions to physics from the study of space. Gravity and space science. Conclusion: To maximize the serendipity of terrestrial physics we need to do physics and astronomy from space.

Chapter 6. Third challenge: space biology. Exobiology. Motivation. The origin and evolution of life. The Viking Mission and the unsuccessful search for life in the solar system. The Martian meteorite. Occam's Razor. The value of exobiology with or without specimens. Terrestrial life in space. Critiques of space biology. Space physiology. Microgravity and development. Biological experiments in space. Global biology. Closed loops and open environments. Defense of space biology.

Chapter 7. Humanity in outer space. Do we really need a human presence in space? The Space Shuttle and the curtailment of space science. What robots can and cannot do in our stead. A preliminary: The case of the space station. Space exploration in the long run. The colonization of space. The possibility of new social forms. The possibility of new humans. What space colonies can and cannot do for us. Starships: designs and possibilities. Recent theoretical breakthroughs. Wormhole travel and time paradoxes. Faster than light without time paradoxes.

Chapter 8. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Motivation for SETI. The Principle of Mediocrity. Where are they? Impossibility proofs. Exploring the galaxy with von Neumann's self-replicating machines. An objection from the philosophy of biology. Exploration of the galaxy by living beings. The wisdom of contact. Critique of the Principle of Mediocrity. Extraterrestrial and human science. The assumption of intellectual convergence: must we all have the same math and physics? Intelligence and civilization: must intelligence be social? Civilization and the development of science. Can SETI be justified?

Chapter 9. Space technology and war. What can be learned from history? The pioneers of space rocketry. The military connection. Does space technology make war more horrifying? Does it make destruction inevitable? The case of the V-2 rocket in WWII. The case of the ICBMs. The Star Wars defense. Space and the future of war. Space and survival in the long run.

Chapter 10. Survival and wisdom. The matter of survival. The ideological objection revisited. Why should survival be a value? Obligations to future generations. How to resolve a conflict of values. The ideological approach is unfeasible. We cannot wisely lessen the human impact on the global environment without the knowledge provided by space exploration. The myth of the balance of nature. Wise interference is the only reasonable option. Conclusion: Wisdom requires the exploration of space.

Postscript. Human nature and exploration.