The Survival Imperative: Using Space to Protect Earth

Burrows is an engaging writer and demonstrates that he is an astute observer of post-Apollo U.S. space efforts. He recognizes that despite the space exploration plan NASA has been pursuing since early 2004, the space agency still lacks clear and compelling goals because it has failed to articulate why we should go back to the Moon and what we'll do (other than basic scientific research) when we get there. Burrows suggests that the overarching goal of the space program should be nothing less than using the Moon and advanced space capabilities to save humanity. At first, this may sound like yet another story arc from Stargate or Dr. Who. But Burrows describes a wide range of real global threats of varying probability, including considerable discussion of asteroid impacts. The most important point he makes is that for the first time in history, humans have the ability to prevent or mitigate very large-scale disasters, and preserve the vast collection of human knowledge, if we apply ourselves to such a goal in a sustained manner - and space provides the means. The last part of that statement presents the author with a great challenge. He doesn't have to do much to convince readers that there are some really horrific potential threats out there. The test of his persuasive powers is to sell the notion that space can be the essential element in the solution set. Those who lived through the Apollo era, have studied spaceflight history, have participated in space advocacy, read space blogs, or work in a space-related job (all of which describe me) will have no trouble accepting his logic, even if some specific prescriptions may seem questionable. However, those who have not experienced such immersion in the study of space will be far more skeptical. Knowing this, Burrows interrupts his main theme by devoting the middle third of his 250-page book to a two-chapter tutorial on how we got where we are in space (warts and all) and what space technology has done and continues to do for us, often in ways that are invisible to most people. Avid space followers will find this to be a rehash of familiar stories, but those unfamiliar with space activities will benefit from a very good Reader's Digest account that will enlighten and possibly amaze. This is not a book to start reading when you're depressed. The first three chapters paint a hellish picture of the nastiest natural and man-made disasters the world could face - everything short of the Sun going nova. But the last three chapters provide important food for thought for anyone who wants to take a long-term macro view of humanity's future. This will be valuable even if you question some proposals that Burrows makes. Personally, I would balance our space investment differently than the author's suggestion that "the space program should, almost in its entirety, be focused on one overarching goal: defending Earth." Also, while I agree that U.S. government space efforts should engage in more interagency (and inter

This question seems more important than all others under discussion today. In this extremely significant book, a seasoned space author dramatizes events that might lead to our extinction, and then presents an unusual but logical program that will ensure that we carry on for the next millenium. Anyone who cares what happens to our civilization beyond his/her own lifetime should read this thoughtful and well written presentation.

I can't believe I'm the first person to review this book here, since it has been out for several months. It is an important book that should be read by everybody with an interest in the future of humankind -- though unfortunately, it probably won't be. It's likely to be ignored by people who think books about space aren't relevant to their own concerns. But the protection of civilization from potential disasters (either natural, such as an asteroid strike, or the result of human action, such as a widespread terrorist attack) is of concern to everyone, as is the need for coordinated efforts in global defense, communications, and environmental protection. The space program, which has drifted without a goal for much too long, can and should be restructured to provide that protection. As Burrows says, "The most important fact of this century is not that Earth is threatened in many ways. It is that for the first time in all of its history a decisive means of protecting the home planet exists. It is by using space." The most ambitious and most crucial of the book's proposals is that an archive containing a comprehensive, continuously-updated record of our civilization, and the information required to restore it after a disaster, be kept in a colony on the moon. There is no more compelling reason to return to the moon than to save civilization, Burrows points out, and yet supporters of a lunar colony are now fragmented, absorbed in the pursuit of competing goals for building one. If they were united with the aim of establishing and maintaining an archive, the other benefits of utilizing the moon would ultimately be obtained. Will space advocates take up this challenge? I would like to think so, but in the past most of them have argued for the space effort on grounds of far lower priority and of lesser significance to the general public. There is urgent need for that to change. The book's main problem is that it may not get into the hands of its intended audience. It contains a detailed history of space programs and proposals that readers knowledgeable about the subject may find superfluous, yet will appeal to only a minority of those who think they're not interested in space; and this may limit its readership. Yet it is worth everyone's time to read and ponder. If you are a space enthusiast, read it even if you believe you already know why space is important -- and then urge friends who don't care about space to read it, too.