# Non-fiction Interstellar Studies ## [[Interstellar Travel: Purpose and Motivations]] - Author:: Les Johnson (ed.) - Year:: 2023 - Tech level:: Near-future extrapolated; within or just beyond current engineering - Propulsion model:: Chemical rockets; nuclear thermal; fusion; beamed sails; advanced electric - Human-factors focus:: Crew health over decades; radiation; psychology of ultra-long missions - Societal themes:: Ethics of seeding life; civilizational priorities; cost vs. benefit of interstellar efforts ## [[Deep Space Probes: To the Outer Solar System and Beyond]] - Author:: Gregory L. Matloff - Year:: 2005 - Tech level:: Current and near-term robotic mission tech - Propulsion model:: Gravity assists; ion drives; solar sails; beamed propulsion concepts - Human-factors focus:: N/A (robotic focus; indirect constraints for humans) - Societal themes:: Long-timescale projects; robotic precursors to human expansion ## [[Living Off the Land in Space: Green Roads to the Cosmos]] - Author:: Gregory Matloff; Les Johnson; C. Bangs - Year:: 2007 - Tech level:: Near- to mid-future interplanetary infrastructure - Propulsion model:: Solar sails; tethers; high-ISP electric and nuclear options - Human-factors focus:: Life support enabled by in-situ resources; environmental sustainability - Societal themes:: Resource-based expansion; ecological impact of a spacefaring civilization ## [[The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space]] - Author:: Gerard K. O’Neill - Year:: 1976 - Tech level:: Extrapolated 20th‑century engineering - Propulsion model:: Chemical and nuclear for in‑system transport; mass drivers for launch - Human-factors focus:: Rotating habitats and 1g; everyday life in large cylinders - Societal themes:: Post-scarcity industrial solar system; political and economic reconfiguration ## [[Emigrating Beyond Earth: Human Adaptation and Space Colonization]] - Author:: Cameron M. Smith; Evan T. Davies - Year:: 2012 - Tech level:: Near‑future biology and anthropology - Propulsion model:: Unspecified / generic; focus on destination life rather than vehicles - Human-factors focus:: Evolution, genetics, small populations, cultural continuity - Societal themes:: Ethics of colonization; long‑term human change; survival strategies ## [[Pale Blue Dot]] (and related Sagan works) - Author:: Carl Sagan - Year:: 1994 - Tech level:: Late‑20th‑century spaceflight; near-term extrapolation - Propulsion model:: Chemical; nuclear; early solar sail and fusion concepts - Human-factors focus:: Human meaning and perspective in a cosmic setting - Societal themes:: Stewardship of Earth; robots vs. humans; philosophical justification for exploration ## [[The Case for Mars / similar]] - Author:: Robert Zubrin - Year:: 1996 - Tech level:: Near‑term Mars mission architecture - Propulsion model:: Chemical with aggressive in‑situ resource utilization - Human-factors focus:: Closed habitats on Mars; partial‑g life; mission risk - Societal themes:: Frontier ethos; national vs. species‑level projects; economics of colonization