[ExI] Three books - The case against humans in space

[Brent Allsop]

Yes, and we shouldn't go to space till we can redesign our bodies so we
don't need space suits.

On Fri, Aug 29, 2025 at 7:05 AM BillK via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

> Book Review     The case against humans in space
> Three books push back on a rising tide of optimism about space settlements.
> By Becky Ferreira     August 22, 2025
>
> <
> https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/08/22/1121428/case-against-space-travel-book-reviews/
> >
> Quotes:
> The Weinersmiths puncture the gauzy fantasy of space cities by asking
> pretty basic questions, like how to populate them. Astronauts
> experience all kinds of medical challenges in space, such as radiation
> exposure and bone loss, which would increase risks to both parents and
> babies. Nobody wants their pregnant “glow” to be a by-product of
> cosmic radiation.
>
> Advocates for human space exploration reject the zero-sum framing and
> point to the many downstream benefits of human spaceflight. Space
> exploration has catalyzed inventions from the CAT scan to baby
> formula. There is also inherent value in our shared adventure of
> learning about the vast cosmos.
> Those upsides are real, but they are not remotely well distributed.
> Mandel predicts that the commercial space sector in its current form
> will only exacerbate inequalities on Earth, as profits from space
> ventures flow into the coffers of the already obscenely rich
>
> All these authors ultimately conclude that it would be great if humans
> lived in space—someday, if and when we’ve matured. But the three books
> all express concerns about efforts by commercial space companies, with
> the help of the US government, to bypass established space laws and
> norms—concerns that have been thoroughly validated in 2025.
> ---------------------------------
>
> They support the case for robots and AI to do space exploration on
> behalf of humans.
> The future may belong to our AI children.
>
> BillK
>
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