Related papers: Constraints on Interstellar Sovereignty
Due to the unprecedented advances in satellite fabrication and deployment, innovative communications and networking technologies, ambitious space projects and programs, and the resurgence of interest in satellite networks, there is a need…
Laboratory experiments provide a valuable complement to explore the fundamental physics of space plasmas without the limitations inherent to spacecraft measurements. Specifically, experiments overcome the restriction that spacecraft…
Following on from ideas presented in a recent paper by Schneider et al. (2010) on "The Far Future of Exoplanet Direct Characterization", I argue that they have exaggerated the technical obstacles to performing such 'direct characterization'…
The rapid launch of hundreds of thousands of satellites into Low Earth Orbit will significantly alter our view of the sky and raise concerns about the sustainability of Earth's orbital space. A new framework for sustainable space…
Searching for life in the universe will make use of several large space missions in the visible and thermal infrared, each with increasing spectral and angular resolution. They will require long-term planning over the coming decades. We…
This chapter reviews for each province and destination of the Solar System the representative space missions that will have to be designed and implemented by 2061 to address the six key science questions about the diversity, origins,…
Extraterrestrial technology may exist in the Solar System without our knowledge. This is because the vastness of space, combined with our limited searches to date, implies that any remote unpiloted exploratory probes of extraterrestrial…
A scientific analysis of the conditions under which gravity could be controlled and the implications that an hypothetical manipulation of gravity would have for known schemes of space propulsion have been the scope of a recent study carried…
We discuss how visions for the futures of humanity in space and SETI are intertwined, and are shaped by prior work in the fields and by science fiction. This appears in the language used in the fields, and in the sometimes implicit…
We document how the narrative and the policies of space exploration in the U.S. have changed over the past 50 years. We first examine the history of the U.S. space exploration program and also assess three current conditions of space…
This paper develops a political-economy theory of statehood without capacity. I argue that under specific institutional and geopolitical conditions, a polity can become trapped in an equilibrium of nominal statehood: a state in which claims…
The aim of my dissertation is to investigate habitability in extra-Solar Systems. Most of the time, only planets are considered as possible places where extraterrestrial life can emerge and evolve, however, their moons could be inhabited,…
Reply to A Comment on The Far Future of Exoplanet Direct Characterization - the Case for Interstellar Space Probess by Ian Crawford. The paper The Far Future of Exoplanet Direct Characterization resulted from the collective work of TE-SAT,…
We consider the proposition that multiple universes exist by reviewing the various manifestations. In recent years, this idea has been elevated from science fiction and introduced in separate guises as an explanation for coincidence…
The goal of finding and characterizing habitable planets in other solar systems represents one of humanity's greatest scientific challenges. NASA and ESA have initiated studies of missions that could accomplish this goal within the next ten…
It is a truism within the exoplanet field that "to know the planet, you must know the star." This pertains to the physical properties of the star (i.e. mass, radius, luminosity, age, multiplicity), the activity and magnetic fields, as well…
Stellar winds of cool, main-sequence stars are very tenuous and difficult to observe. Despite carrying away only a small amount of the stellar mass, they are important for regulating the rotation of the star and, consequently, its activity…
In contrast to manned missions, the application of autonomous robots for space exploration missions decreases the safety concerns of the exploration missions while extending the exploration distance since returning transportation is not…
The discovery of planets orbiting stars other than the Sun has accelerated over the past decade, and this trend will continue as new space- and ground-based observatories employ next-generation instrumentation to search the skies for…
This is a scientific strategy for the detection and characterization of extrasolar planets; that is, planets orbiting other stars. As such, it maps out over a 15-year horizon the techniques and capabilities required to detect and measure…