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Chapter 13 - Stepping Stone

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2014

Arlin Crotts
Arlin Crotts
Affiliation:
Columbia University, New York
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Summary

There is no easy way from the earth to the stars. (Non est ad astra mollis e terris via.)

– Lucius Annæus Seneca (the Younger), ca. 50 AD

Earth is the cradle of our intelligence, but one does not live all of life in a cradle. (Planyeta yest’ kolybyel razuma, No nyelzya vietchno zhit’ v kolybyeli.)

– Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky, 1911

The Moon, planets, and stars beckon as vast expanses of territory and potential experience and understanding beyond us. To experience it, you need to reach out. It is unlike anything you have done, and not what you evolved to do. It is true wilderness, not with predators (that we know of), but many perils. Mainly, it is oblivious. First, you must escape the clutch of the mother planet that bore you. Whether humans choose to surmount this challenge says as much about humanness as outer space. Do we choose to go? The good news is that we may have more than one chance to ascend this height. The bad news is that this may cause us to procrastinate. What is the imperative? Do we have so much time?

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The New Moon
Water, Exploration, and Future Habitation
 , pp. 392 - 431
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

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  • Stepping Stone
  • Arlin Crotts, Columbia University, New York
  • Book: The New Moon
  • Online publication: 05 September 2014
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139045384.014
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  • Stepping Stone
  • Arlin Crotts, Columbia University, New York
  • Book: The New Moon
  • Online publication: 05 September 2014
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139045384.014
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Stepping Stone
  • Arlin Crotts, Columbia University, New York
  • Book: The New Moon
  • Online publication: 05 September 2014
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139045384.014
Available formats
×