Surviving 1000 Centuries

Zusatztext

This book provides a quantitative view of our civilization over the next 100,000 years, in comparison to the 40-60,000 years it took for modern humans to emerge from Africa, on the basis of contemporary scientific and technological knowledge. The opening chapters provide the general scientific background. The evolution of the Earths atmosphere and the origin of water are highlighted. The authors then consider both cosmic and natural hazards. The changing climate in the past and in the future is considered, along with future energy and inorganic resources. The colonization of other planets, and the possibility of extracting resources from the Moon or asteroids are discussed. The final chapters stress the importance of international collaboration to manage Earths future, together with the crucial role of space for its monitoring, surveillance and management.

Autorenportrait

Dr R M Bonnet and Dr L Woltjer are outstanding, internationally renowned scientists. During his long tenure at the European Space Agency, Dr Bonnet has directed the launch of 17 artificial scientific satellites, initiating the development of the Huygens probe placed on the NASA Cassini Saturn Orbiter which landed on Titan on 14 January 2005, developing the successful Mars Express mission and directing the SMART-1 European lunar mission. He is President of COSPAR and Executive Director of ISSI and has acquired a world reputation in the field of space politics. After 11 years at Columbia University, NY, Dr Woltjer returned to Europe as Director General of ESO for 13 years. Since then he has worked closely with the Observatories de Haute Provence in France and the University of Florence in Italy, was President of the International Astronomical Union and Chairman of the Space Science Advisory Committee of ESA for 4 years.

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