Once Upon A Star - How Space Is The New Frontier.

An Albert Einstein quote with a picture of him on the left and his quote about human stupidity on the right set in white on black (page 229). Copy right owned by Quotes Porn, Reddit (2024).

The Sunday Times Bestseller - The future of Geography - How power and politics in space will change our world by Tim Marshall

Using a handheld device you send a message to a friend telling them that you are running late. You purchase a toy fish for your cat along with a few essentials online. These items are delivered next day and you was even able to track the progress of your order, were the driver was and what time it will be delivered. Medical equipment, law enforcement, banks, governments, schools and basically the approximately 8 billion population of this planet use satellites, probes, rockets and other equipment designed in space of for space. You do not even have to be a wealthy country/state to be able to benefit from or send them into space - private enterprise is now in the market too,

Whether its Sci-fi or a NASA mission, the universe catches the human imagination. Tim Marshall has now authored his third part of his trilogy on how geography affects us all. This book - The future of geography, is an amazing insightful and well researched expose on all things intergalactic. He helps us understand the wealth of information that is out there on space and its many major players in its destiny - China, Russia, USA and the EU. Tim skilfully links each chapter, discussing each nation and technologies. We are reminded that the space race is no longer being fought by large powerful countries alone and as Tim puts it "Have a flag" to invest in space technology. Private companies we hear on the TV or Radio and see on billboards or advertisements have now got a stake in this lucrative market for gold, platinum, uranium, diamonds, minerals, gases etc. They include SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and i-Space to name just a few.

No matter what your opinion on space travel, tourism or war is, there is one fundamental truth and that is humans are greedy and the rich just want to keep on getting richer! So space exploration is here to stay. Tim rightly reminds us that this is the chance for things to change for the good but history tells us that this is sadly not likely to happen. Although there is some international cohesion over science and shared technology in space like the International Space Station (ISS), what benefits we are reaping have been limited as the focus is on militarisation and defence capabilities. When he was explaining how space could help us to turn climate change around, starvation of billions and longevity or life it reminded me of a Disney Pixar film - Wall-E (2008) when they leave the planet and travel on a large spaceship to find another inhabitable planet in the hope that the robots left behind will clean up the mess humans have made. In the end, it showed only humans can solve the problem on earth and its within our power to do so.

The James Webb telescope since its launch has started transmitting back some awe-inspiring pictures and details of planets and systems we never knew existed or where that beautiful. No matter what you or I believe in, we have overall control of our destiny and the destiny of this beautiful planet and all the other systems out there. Instead of creating war satellites and rockets that will destroy mankind, Tim rightly reminds us we can create peace and prosperity for all. Tim Marshall's experience of interacting and reporting about numerous countries, governments, wars, societies and individuals along with his brilliant research skills, have given us a book that can enlighten us through the asteroid field of ignorance and fake news and deepen our appreciation of our beautiful planet. I highly recommend buying or renting this book from a library - its a MUST READ in this volatile world and now space we live in.

#space #technology #peace #war

The Future Of Geography - How Power And Politics In Space Change Our World by Tim Marshall (2023). ISBN: 978-1-78396-724-7 Paper Back - RRP £9.99 UK. Published by Elliot & Thompson in the UK.