![]() ![]() A great read for lovers of astronomy and astronautics, long-term investors, and venture capitalists with nerves of steel.”-Sir Philip Campbell, editor-in-chief, Springer Nature “A lively, comprehensive vision of future knowledge, technologies and wealth creation in our solar system. Well done!”-John Mather, author of The Very First Light Nobel Prize laureate (physics), 2006 “A delightful trip around the solar system’s most dangerous and useful objects, leftovers from the beginning, causes of mass extinctions, and a chance for space trillionaires. “A lively and engaging writer, Martin Elvis shows us why it will take much more than drilling equipment and spaceships to mine asteroids-and to do it the right way.”-Frank White, author of The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution He’s not only an expert, but a fluent and entertaining writer.”-Martin Rees, author of On the Future and Just Six Numbers “Martin Elvis gives a fascinating survey of all the reasons why asteroids are interesting. Martin Elvis has provided an important framework for assessing how humankind should look at the vast riches likely available via asteroids.” -Leonard David, Inside Outer Space It is a strong candidate for acquisition by all libraries.”-T. Should appeal to a wide audience, including not only astronomers but also engineers, entrepreneurs, and even lawyers (as space law is still quite literally a wide-open field). Yet, the writing style is breezy, clear, and at times humorous. The discussion is up-to-date and is supported by 34 pages of endnotes. Each motive is discussed in authoritative detail in a text that includes an explanation of the author’s original research and calculations. discusses three possible motives for studying asteroids: love (of knowledge), fear (that they can strike the Earth), and greed (for the valuable raw materials that could potentially be mined). ![]() From the origins of life to “space billiards” and space sports, Elvis looks at how asteroids may be used in the not-so-distant future. Elvis explains how each motive can be satisfied, and how they help one another. Finally, Elvis maintains, we should consider greed: asteroids likely hold vast riches, such as large platinum deposits, and mining them could provide both a new industry and a funding source for bolder space exploration. A more compelling reason may be fear-of a dinosaur killer–sized asteroid hitting our planet. Elvis’s personal motivation is one of scientific love-asteroid investigations may teach us about the composition of the solar system and the origins of life. So why go? In this accessible and authoritative book, astrophysicist Martin Elvis argues that the answer is asteroid exploration, for the strong motives of love, fear, and greed. A unique, wide-ranging examination of asteroid exploration and our future in space Human travel into space is an enormously expensive and unforgiving endeavor. ![]()
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