Back to the Moon - by Joseph Silk

About the Book

"In December 2022, it will have been fifty years since humankind's last voyage to the Moon. And nations around the world have been gaining momentum, increasingly rapidly, in their planning to return. NASA proposes to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024 (with the Artemis program) and to build a lunar orbiting space station - the Lunar Gateway - that will be capable of sustaining a permanent human presence by 2028. The Lunar Gateway is also meant to be a base for coordinating lunar development and function as a launch site for further solar system exploration (including to Mars and beyond). Meanwhile, the European Space Agency (ESA) has called for the installation of a permanent, human-inhabited village at the lunar southern pole. And, among other lunar projects, China's National Space Administration is also pursuing a human outpost on the Moon. Private entrepreneurs are enthusiastic about mining minerals on the Moon, making rocket fuel for further space exploration, and even developing luxury hotel resorts. These various lunar initiatives that characterize the new space race to the Moon are generally more commercial than scientific. Yet, geared as they are to establish habitable facilities on our nearest neighbor in space, they will also open up the Moon to science and usher in a new age of scientific exploration. While international space agencies and commercial interests jostle and race to create habitable space and profits on the Moon, this book advocates for the science that can be done there and lays out a vision for what the next fifty years of lunar science might look like. In particular, Silk advocates for the pursuit of lunar astronomy and argues that building a telescope on the lunar far side should be an integral part of plans to return to the Moon, as it would be uniquely poised to answer some of the most profound questions facing humankind: where did we come from and are we alone?"--

Book Synopsis

A scientist's inspiring vision of our return to the Moon as humanity's next thrilling step in space exploration

Just over half a century since Neil Armstrong first stepped foot on the lunar surface, a new space race to the Moon is well underway and rapidly gaining momentum. Laying out a vision for the next fifty years, Back to the Moon is astrophysicist Joseph Silk's persuasive and impassioned case for putting scientific discovery at the forefront of lunar exploration.

The Moon offers opportunities beyond our wildest imaginings, and plans to return are rapidly gaining momentum around the world. NASA aims to build a habitable orbiting space station to coordinate lunar development and exploration, while European and Chinese space agencies are planning lunar villages and the mining of precious resources dwindling here on Earth. Powerful international and commercial interests are driving the race to revisit the Moon, but lunar infrastructures could also open breathtaking vistas onto the cosmos. Silk describes how the colonization of the Moon could usher in a thrilling new age of scientific exploration, and lays out what the next fifty years of lunar science might look like. With lunar telescopes of unprecedented size situated in permanently dark polar craters and on the far side of the Moon, we could finally be poised to answer some of the most profound questions confronting humankind, including whether we are alone in the Universe and what our cosmic origins are.

Addressing both the daunting challenges and the immense promise of lunar exploration and exploitation, Back to the Moon reveals how prioritizing science, and in particular lunar astronomy, will enable us to address the deepest cosmic mysteries.

Review Quotes

"The exploitation of the Moon in the next decade should be of wide general interest and this book will help inform that."---Peredur Williams, The Observatory

"[The] book is going to hit a wide public audience and is in part mind-boggling . . . it's impossible not to be caught up in the fizzing scientific curiosity that drives the book's narrative."---Richard Lofthouse, Quad

"While the book is suitable for those starting out in their quest to learn and understand the possibilities of lunar exploration, it will also appeal to those more experienced reader requiring an up-to-date account. Perfect for readers at any level, Back to the Moon will satiate the most curious of minds."---Katrin Raynor, BBC Sky at Night

"Silk does a great job of summing up why the Moon should be important to humanity as a platform for science of all sorts. But the crux of "Back to the Moon" is really Silk's clarion call of humanity to actualize its astronomical potential. . . . In his timely book, Silk makes a strong and important case for a robust return to the Moon for science."---Bruce Dorminey, Forbes

"Back to the Moon excites and inspires with its stunning suggestions for what the next fifty years of lunar exploration might entail, and it advocates for the primacy of science over politics and profit."---Kristine Morris, Foreword Reviews

"A stirring case for permanent habitation of the lunar surface."---Steven Poole, Wall Street Journal

"An enthusiastic account of the future of space exploration, and specifically the role of the Moon in it. . . . The scope of Silk's survey is impressive. . . . [Silk's] enthusiasm and accessible explanations bring the high-altitude thought experiments down to earth. Readers dreaming of civilizations in space will find plenty to consider."-- "Publishers Weekly"

"Impassioned. . . . Silk puts forward intriguing ideas."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

"This riveting work by accomplished astrophysicist Silk examines the exciting possibilities of returning to the moon. . . . [Silk] employs engaging, lively prose, which will appeal to a wide range of readers."-- "Library Journal"

About the Author

Joseph Silk is Bloomberg Research Professor at Johns Hopkins University and a researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics in Paris and the Beecroft Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology at the University of Oxford. His many books include The Big Bang, The Infinite Cosmos: Questions from the Frontiers of Cosmology, and On the Shores of the Unknown: A Short History of the Universe. He lives in Paris.