The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds
Introducing a 10-phase, 500-year vision for the future of space exploration, genetic engineering, and the human species—on Earth and on other planets.

As the only species aware that life on Earth has an expiration date, we have a moral duty to land on, to live on, and to extend life to other planets.

Inevitably, life on Earth will come to an end, whether by climate disaster, or by cataclysmic war—or when the sun runs out of fuel in a few billion years. To avoid extinction, will we have to find a new home planet, perhaps even a new solar system, to inhabit?
 
In this provocative and fascinating book, Christopher Mason argues that we have a moral duty to do just that. Because we are the only species aware that life on Earth has an expiration date, we have a responsibility to act as the shepherd of lifeforms—not only for our species but for all species on which we depend and for those still to come (by accidental or designed evolution). Mason argues that the same capacity for ingenuity that has enabled us to build rockets and land on other planets can be applied to redesigning biology so that we can sustainably inhabit those planets. And he lays out a 500-year plan for undertaking the massively ambitious project of reengineering human genetics for life in other worlds.
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The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds
Introducing a 10-phase, 500-year vision for the future of space exploration, genetic engineering, and the human species—on Earth and on other planets.

As the only species aware that life on Earth has an expiration date, we have a moral duty to land on, to live on, and to extend life to other planets.

Inevitably, life on Earth will come to an end, whether by climate disaster, or by cataclysmic war—or when the sun runs out of fuel in a few billion years. To avoid extinction, will we have to find a new home planet, perhaps even a new solar system, to inhabit?
 
In this provocative and fascinating book, Christopher Mason argues that we have a moral duty to do just that. Because we are the only species aware that life on Earth has an expiration date, we have a responsibility to act as the shepherd of lifeforms—not only for our species but for all species on which we depend and for those still to come (by accidental or designed evolution). Mason argues that the same capacity for ingenuity that has enabled us to build rockets and land on other planets can be applied to redesigning biology so that we can sustainably inhabit those planets. And he lays out a 500-year plan for undertaking the massively ambitious project of reengineering human genetics for life in other worlds.
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The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds

The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds

by Christopher E. Mason
The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds

The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds

by Christopher E. Mason

eBook

$16.99 

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Overview

Introducing a 10-phase, 500-year vision for the future of space exploration, genetic engineering, and the human species—on Earth and on other planets.

As the only species aware that life on Earth has an expiration date, we have a moral duty to land on, to live on, and to extend life to other planets.

Inevitably, life on Earth will come to an end, whether by climate disaster, or by cataclysmic war—or when the sun runs out of fuel in a few billion years. To avoid extinction, will we have to find a new home planet, perhaps even a new solar system, to inhabit?
 
In this provocative and fascinating book, Christopher Mason argues that we have a moral duty to do just that. Because we are the only species aware that life on Earth has an expiration date, we have a responsibility to act as the shepherd of lifeforms—not only for our species but for all species on which we depend and for those still to come (by accidental or designed evolution). Mason argues that the same capacity for ingenuity that has enabled us to build rockets and land on other planets can be applied to redesigning biology so that we can sustainably inhabit those planets. And he lays out a 500-year plan for undertaking the massively ambitious project of reengineering human genetics for life in other worlds.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780262360067
Publisher: MIT Press
Publication date: 04/20/2021
Sold by: Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format: eBook
Pages: 296
File size: 3 MB

About the Author

Christopher E. Mason is a geneticist and computational biologist who has been a Principal Investigator and Co-investigator of seven NASA missions and projects. He is Associate Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, with affiliate appointments at the Meyer Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and the Consortium for Space Genetics at Harvard Medical School.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION: THE EMBRYOGENESIS OF HUMANITY xi
1 THE FIRST GENETIC ASTRONAUTS 1
2 THE DUTY TO ENGINEER 15
3 PHASE 1: THE LANDSCAPE OF FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS
(2010–2020) 27
4 PHASE 2: PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING OF GENOMES
(2021–2040) 47
5 PHASE 3: LONG-TERM TRIALS OF HUMAN AND CELLULAR
ENGINEERING (2041–2100) 97
6 PHASE 4: PREPARING HUMANS FOR SPACE (2101–2150) 115
7 PHASE 5: SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY FOR NEW HOMES
(2151–2200) 133
8 PHASE 6: EXPANDING THE LIMITS OF LIFE (2201–2250) 155
9 PHASE 7: TEST A GENERATION SHIP AND SETTLE HARSH
WORLDS (2251–2350) 169
10 PHASE 8: SETTLE NEW EARTHS (2351–2400) 191
11 PHASE 9: LAUNCH TOWARD THE SECOND SUN (2401–2500) 213
12 PHASE 10: OPTIMISTIC UNKNOWNS (BEYOND 2500) 247
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 255
REFERENCES 259
INDEX 267

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Christopher Mason is a pioneer in aerospace medicine and genetics. In this book, he creates an intricate, molecular-level understanding of what happens to astronauts’ bodies in space—including my own! He brings his knowledge, passion, and rich mission insights to create an inspiring vision of the next 500 years of spaceflight and human exploration.”
Astronaut Scott Kelly

“An eye-opening and insightful tour-de-force of a genetically altered possible future for humans in space.”
Sara Seager, MIT; author of The Smallest Lights in the Universe
 
“Mason takes us on a voyage into space and time to address an existential risk facing humanity with a clear-headed discussion of the limitations of human biology and how to overcome them. He gives a great perspective on synthetic biology and how it impacts us today and in the future.”
George Church, Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School
 
“A breathtaking vision of humanity’s future, scientifically founded on the most cutting-edge discoveries, science, and ethical frameworks of today. Dr. Mason has already driven ceaseless advances in experimental and computational genomics, and his visionary roadmap of biology and engineering reveals the exciting centuries of progress ahead.”
Manolis Kellis, Professor of Computer Science, AI, and Genomics, MIT

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