A step farther out
In 1979, Jerry Pournelle, a science fiction author famed for his columns in computer magazine, Byte, wrote a non-fiction book, titled A Step Farther Out. The book was a fascinating collection of essays, rich with ideas and ideals. It would probably bear re-reading even three decades on.
Pournelle decried the defunding of space exploration, arguing that the moon had become viewed as a destination, rather than merely a first step of man’s journey into space. Motivated, no doubt, by apocalyptic visions of the population explosion, his argument was that not only was this the first generation that had the resources to expand into space, but it might well be the last. Moreover, the solutions to the world’s energy crisis and resource shortage, lay in space.
I think this is what he had in mind:
My word, Jerry Pournelle turns 75 this year!
At an informal gathering last fall honoring his 75th, Jerry renewed his call for systematic expansion of a human presence in our solar system, and decried the fact that asteroid mining had not yet become a reality. SO let’s all support NASA’s scheduled Dawn mission rendezvous with Vesta and Ceres in 2015.