COLONIZING THE MOON AND MARS:
HOW?  WHEN?
An Intro:

 

 

The Moon is close and Mars is the most Earth-like planet, so both are ideal targets for near-term human bases and colonization. Indeed, both Japan and the U.S. have announced plans to send people back to the Moon within 12 years, and China (possibly in cooperation with Russia) wants to establish a lunar base shortly thereafter; India also has lunar ambitions.  Of course Russia, through its American broker Space Adventures, already offers private citizens their own personal trip around the Moon.  Russia also claims to be ahead in a “race to Mars” that they expect to win by 2025.

 

These are interesting dates, all well within 20 years from now, so given the international and economic challenges of the world today: (1) Are these plans realistic? (2) If so, what new approaches and technologies will trigger human expansion into the cosmos by 2025? And (3) most importantly, what economic forces actually make these near-term events seem almost inevitable?

 

 

More information about this event and other public space events this Spring, 2008 is at:  http://fcfutures.fullcoll.edu/futures.events.s.08.htm