Analysis: Jeff Bezos’s new plans for space have stirred up old fights in science fiction
Jeff Bezos, owner of Blue Origin, introduces a new lunar landing module called Blue Moon during an event Thursday at the Washington Convention Center in the District. By Henry Farrell Henry Farrell Email Bio Follow May 10 at 1:08 PM Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos on Thursday debuted a new lunar landing module, to be constructed by his space exploration company, Blue Origin.
His vision is spurred by the ideas of the physicist Gerard K. O’Neill, who proposed such colonies a generation ago, but it is firmly embedded in debates within science fiction. O’Neill was engaged in fights that spanned science fiction and space exploration. New fights have emerged over the intervening decades. These fights help to explain the politics around Bezos’s proposal.O’Neill was opposed to traditional proposals for space colonization, which were aimed at colonizing planets.
Colonizing planets has many attractions. However, it also has a variety of associated problems. First, colonizing planets in the solar system would require people to live in enclosed spaces within extraordinarily hostile environments. Mars would be a very unpleasant place to live. So why not just live in an enclosed space? Second, planets are at the bottom of gravity wells, which make them poorly suited to serving as bases for further exploration .
One side of this fight is driven by concerns over inequality and global warming. Writers like Robinson worry that we have only one world — and we are screwing it up. They suggest that dreams of solar and extrasolar colonization are ways of ducking the real fight over figuring out how to prevent the one environment that we know human beings can inhabit — the planet Earth — from being irrevocably degraded.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Watch Jeff Bezos reveal Blue Origin's detailed plan for colonizing spaceJeff Bezos wants to colonize space. But he knows there's a lot of work to be done before that happens. Here are his detailed plans to succeed.
Read more »
Jeff Bezos unveils new plans for Blue Origin spaceflight: Live updates'It's time to go back to the moon, this time to stay,' says Jeff Bezos. The Blue Origin founder unveiled Blue Moon, a lunar lander that's designed to land on and bounce back off of the moon's surface
Read more »
Billionaire Jeff Bezos to unveil plans for moon presence, sources sayBillionaire entrepreneur Jeff Bezos will unveil plans on Thursday for missions t...
Read more »
Elon Musk pokes fun at Jeff Bezos' new moon lander spacecraft with lewd tweetBezos' space company Blue Origin debuted a moon lander called 'Blue Moon.' Musk tweeted a different name for the spacecraft.
Read more »
Jeff Bezos unveils lunar lander to take astronauts to the moon by 2024'It's time to go back to the moon and this time stay,' billionaire Jeff Bezos said yesterday as he unveiled Blue Origin's lunar lander for the first time.
Read more »
Jeff Bezos' Blue Moon: Here's what we know so far about Blue Origin's new lunar landerThe billionaire entrepreneur said the newly unveiled spacecraft could return humanity to the moon by 2024.
Read more »
Jeff Bezos, richest man in the world, was a surprise guest at this Kentucky Derby partyAmazon's Jeff Bezos, Tom Brady, party; Travis Tritt, NYSYNC's Joey Fatone, Eddie Montgomery perform at Barnstable Brown gala ahead of Kentucky Derby.
Read more »
Jeff Koons's 'Rabbit' leads Christie's spring...Top lots in the Post-War and Contemporary Art category are all expected to sell for between $50-$70 million, and include a steel sculpture in the shape of a rabbit. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
Read more »