Book: The future of geography

Author

Tim Marshall

Summary

As assessment of the current state and future trajectory of geopolitics in space.

Takeaways

Space exploration has a rich history of successes and failures and sparked the imagination of generations of people, culminating in the moon landing in 1969. Currently several countries have ambitious space programs including plans to return to the moon and populate Mars. The biggest players are the USA, China, and Russia. The competition for territory and extraterrestrial resources and the arms race to develop more powerful military technology is amplified by the lack of laws or international agreements. Further challenges arise from the increasing amount of traffic and space debris that creates risks for life and technology.

Quotes

“We need greater clarity and shared commitments to transparency, pooled resources, debris collection, spacecraft disposal, freedom of navigation, deconfliction, release of data, situational awareness, and space traffic management, all within a respected rules-based order to which all parties agree."

"‘If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.’ Countries tend to define potential threats as real threats. Therefore, placing your bets on one of the space powers that decides not to match any military space advances by a rival is not recommended."

“Everything in our history tells us we cannot resist the call of the unknown. It is inevitable we will venture farther because, as US astronaut Gene Cernan put it, ‘Curiosity is the essence of human existence.'"