Lindy Elkins-Tanton

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

District of Columbia

A Memoir

"Fierce, absorbing, and ultimately inspiring." --ELIZABETH KOLBERT

"One of the finest scientific memoirs ever written." --DAVID W. BROWN

From one of the world's leading planetary scientists, a luminous memoir of exploration on Earth, in space, and within oneself--equal parts ode to the beauty of science, meditation on loss, and roadmap for personal resilience

Deep in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, three times farther from the sun than the Earth is, orbits a massive asteroid called (16) Psyche. It is one of the largest objects in the belt, potentially containing the equivalent of the world's total economy in metals, though they cannot be brought back to Earth. But (16) Psyche has the potential to unlock something even more valuable: the story of how planets form, and how our planet formed. Soon we will find out, thanks to the extraordinary work of Lindy Elkins-Tanton, the Principal Investigator of NASA's $800 million Psyche mission, and the second woman ever to be awarded a major NASA space exploration contract.

The journey that brought her to this place is extraordinary. Amid a childhood of terrible trauma, Elkins-Tanton fell in love with science as a means of healing and consolation. But still she wondered, was forced to wonder: as a woman, was science "for her"? In answering that question, she takes us from the wilds of the Siberian tundra to the furthest reaches of outer space, from the Mayo Clinic, where Elkins-Tanton battled ovarian cancer while writing the Psyche proposal, to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where her team brought that proposal to life.

A Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Woman is a beautifully-constructed memoir that explores how a philosophy of life can be built from the tools of scientific inquiry. It teaches us how to approach difficult problems by asking the right questions and truly listening to the answers--and how we may find meaning through exploring the wonders of the universe around us.

A Portrait of the Scientist As a Young Woman

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Erika Nesvold

Ethical Questions and Quandaries for Living in Outer Space

Can we do better in space than we've done here on Earth?

We've pinpointed the destination, refined the technology, designed the habitat, outfitted our space residents. Are we forgetting something? A timely reminder that it's not just rocket science, this thought-provoking book explores the all-too-human issues raised by the prospect of settling in outer space. It's worth remembering, Erika Nesvold suggests, that in making new worlds, we don't necessarily leave our earthly problems behind. Accordingly, her work highlights the complex ethical challenges that accompany any other-worldly venture-questions about the environment, labor rights, and medical ethics, among others.

Any such venture, Nesvold contends, must be made on behalf of all humanity, with global input and collaboration. Off-Earth thus includes historical and contemporary examples from outside the dominant Western/US, abled, and privileged narrative of the space industry. Nesvold calls on experts in ethics, sociology, history, social justice, and law to launch a hopeful conversation about the potential ethical pitfalls of becoming a multi-planet species-and, ideally, to shed light on similar problems we presently face here on Earth.

Space settlement is rapidly becoming ever more likely. Will it look like the utopian vision of Star Trek? Or the dark future of Star Wars? Nesvold challenges us to decide.

Jessie Moore

@jessiemooretorres

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Lindy Elkins-Tanton

A Portrait of the Scientist As a Young Woman

Erika Nesvold

Off-Earth

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Lindy Elkins-Tanton

A Portrait of the Scientist As a Young Woman

Erika Nesvold

Off-Earth

Museo del Prado

La Guía del Prado (Museo del Prado)

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