November 22
We'll break into three groups. Each group will imagine it has founded a space mining company and attracted wealthy investors. In 20-30 minutes, group members will:
1. Use the Asterank software to find a Near Earth Object (NEO) that you think would be a lucrative target for a mining operation. Note that this is NOT a straightforward question.
2. Determine which resources in the NEO your company intends to exploit.
3. Decide how a robotic mining expedition undertaken by your company would access those resources.
4. Explain how your company's efforts could influence humanity.
Consult and ideally cite our readings for last week - especially this article - to draft a short (5-minute) presentation of your plans.
1. Use the Asterank software to find a Near Earth Object (NEO) that you think would be a lucrative target for a mining operation. Note that this is NOT a straightforward question.
2. Determine which resources in the NEO your company intends to exploit.
3. Decide how a robotic mining expedition undertaken by your company would access those resources.
4. Explain how your company's efforts could influence humanity.
Consult and ideally cite our readings for last week - especially this article - to draft a short (5-minute) presentation of your plans.
November 15
We're going to get into seven small groups.
In ten minutes or so, I’d like for you to tell each other the following:
When we reconvene, everybody will provide a one-sentence summary of the thesis of another person in their group, and a one-sentence description of the biggest challenge they think they'll face in writing their essay.
In ten minutes or so, I’d like for you to tell each other the following:
- Your counterfactual thesis.
- Your primary source.
- The two most useful secondary sources for you.
- The biggest challenge you need to overcome in writing your essay.
When we reconvene, everybody will provide a one-sentence summary of the thesis of another person in their group, and a one-sentence description of the biggest challenge they think they'll face in writing their essay.
November 8
We’re going to break into three groups.
Group 1 will present a short-term (next 5-15 years) vision for how the American space community should engage with Venus. Ask yourself, for example: are there any enduring questions about Venus that could and should be answered? What kind of missions to Venus could answer those questions?
Group 2 will present a longer-term vision (next 15-50 years) for American engagement with Venus. You might ask yourselves whether Venus is a good place for humans to settle – and, if so, whether some parts of Venus are more hospitable than others. What would a settlement look like; could it succeed?
Group 3 will present a truly long-term vision (more than 50 years) for American – and indeed human – engagement with the planet. Consider: what might a successful settlement ultimately look like? Could it jumpstart a broader transformation of the Venusian environment? Could that transformation be sustained; how could it ultimately reshape the planet, and with what ends?
I’ll give you about 20 minutes, and you’ll then give a 5-minute presentation to communicate what you've found.
Group 1 will present a short-term (next 5-15 years) vision for how the American space community should engage with Venus. Ask yourself, for example: are there any enduring questions about Venus that could and should be answered? What kind of missions to Venus could answer those questions?
Group 2 will present a longer-term vision (next 15-50 years) for American engagement with Venus. You might ask yourselves whether Venus is a good place for humans to settle – and, if so, whether some parts of Venus are more hospitable than others. What would a settlement look like; could it succeed?
Group 3 will present a truly long-term vision (more than 50 years) for American – and indeed human – engagement with the planet. Consider: what might a successful settlement ultimately look like? Could it jumpstart a broader transformation of the Venusian environment? Could that transformation be sustained; how could it ultimately reshape the planet, and with what ends?
I’ll give you about 20 minutes, and you’ll then give a 5-minute presentation to communicate what you've found.
November 3
We'll break into three groups.
Group 1 will draw on this week's readings to describe key scientific ideas, discoveries, and/or controversies about Venus, up to the year 1900.
Group 2 will do the same, except from around 1900 to the year 1960.
Group 3 will do the same, this time from about 1960 to the present.
After 15-20 minutes, you'll take no more than 5 minutes to present what you found.
Group 1 will draw on this week's readings to describe key scientific ideas, discoveries, and/or controversies about Venus, up to the year 1900.
Group 2 will do the same, except from around 1900 to the year 1960.
Group 3 will do the same, this time from about 1960 to the present.
After 15-20 minutes, you'll take no more than 5 minutes to present what you found.
October 24
We will break into four small groups.
Each group will begin this project by reading through a short survey of all the Mars settlement plans ever developed (it's a couple years old, so bear that in mind).
Choose one of these plans. Now:
I will give you thirty minutes to answer these questions. When you’re done, you will give a five-minute presentation that answers the above questions.
While answering the questions, you will need to consult and perhaps interrogate a map of Mars – Google Mars is accessible and richly detailed – as well as the links in that survey article. Most importantly, you will need to consider your readings for the past few weeks. See if you can refer to those readings while giving your presentation.
Each group will begin this project by reading through a short survey of all the Mars settlement plans ever developed (it's a couple years old, so bear that in mind).
Choose one of these plans. Now:
- Try to explain how it would work, and how it could be feasible.
- Describe the regional or local environment on Mars that the settlement effort would exploit, and why it would be chosen (if no specific environment is mentioned in the plan, choose one).
- Describe the obstacles that a settlement would have to overcome. Consider the Martian environment, its dangers and its vulnerabilities – or the challenges posed by geopolitics and economics.
- Provide a long-term vision for your settlement. Could it secure a sustainable, thriving human presence on Mars?
- Finally, try to provide a justification for your settlement.
I will give you thirty minutes to answer these questions. When you’re done, you will give a five-minute presentation that answers the above questions.
While answering the questions, you will need to consult and perhaps interrogate a map of Mars – Google Mars is accessible and richly detailed – as well as the links in that survey article. Most importantly, you will need to consider your readings for the past few weeks. See if you can refer to those readings while giving your presentation.
September 22
We're going to get into two groups.
Group 1 will argue, based on the readings this week, that the Kennedy Administration made a wise and well-considered decision when it challenged NASA to land a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s.
Group 2 will argue – again, based on our readings – that the Kennedy Administration erred in derailing the Eisenhower Administration’s vision for the gradual development of American capabilities and assets in space.
IF AFTER THIS GROUP ASSIGNMENT WE STILL HAVE TIME:
Group 1 will argue, based on the readings this week, that the Kennedy Administration made a wise and well-considered decision when it challenged NASA to land a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s.
Group 2 will argue – again, based on our readings – that the Kennedy Administration erred in derailing the Eisenhower Administration’s vision for the gradual development of American capabilities and assets in space.
IF AFTER THIS GROUP ASSIGNMENT WE STILL HAVE TIME:
We're going to break into three groups.
Each group will discuss a report, described in one of your readings, that details the conclusions of the 1964 conference on potential hazards of back contamination from the planets.
Each group will use the report to evaluate plans for crewed sample return missions to Venus or Mars, which were in the works in the 1960s. You will briefly answer the following questions:
1. What were the risks inherent in these missions?
2. Had NASA received funding for them, should they have gone forward?
3. How could the risks have been minimized?
4. Is there anything we can learn from this report to evaluate the risks of longstanding and perhaps soon-to-be-realized plans for robotic sample return missions from Venus or Mars?
Please draw directly from the report – citing page numbers, if relevant – to answer these questions. You will give a short, informal presentation summarizing your answers.
Each group will discuss a report, described in one of your readings, that details the conclusions of the 1964 conference on potential hazards of back contamination from the planets.
Each group will use the report to evaluate plans for crewed sample return missions to Venus or Mars, which were in the works in the 1960s. You will briefly answer the following questions:
1. What were the risks inherent in these missions?
2. Had NASA received funding for them, should they have gone forward?
3. How could the risks have been minimized?
4. Is there anything we can learn from this report to evaluate the risks of longstanding and perhaps soon-to-be-realized plans for robotic sample return missions from Venus or Mars?
Please draw directly from the report – citing page numbers, if relevant – to answer these questions. You will give a short, informal presentation summarizing your answers.
September 15
You will evaluate the documents we read this week using historian Mark Kishlansky's framework for evaluating primary sources. The framework, which you can download by clicking here, consists of questions in three levels. You will answer each of these questions in about 20 minutes. When we reconvene, your group will present its answers - ideally in about five minutes.
Group 1: Army
Evaluate U.S. Army, Project Horizon, Vol. I: Summary and Supporting Considerations. 1959.
Group 2: Air Force
Evaluate J. Reiffel, “A Study of Lunar Research Flights Vol. I.” Air Force Special Weapons Center, 1959.
Group 3: Intelligence Community
Evaluate Sydney Wesley Finer, “The Kidnapping of the Lunik," and CIA, “Preliminary Analysis of Luna-9 Photography.” June 1966.
Group 1: Army
Evaluate U.S. Army, Project Horizon, Vol. I: Summary and Supporting Considerations. 1959.
Group 2: Air Force
Evaluate J. Reiffel, “A Study of Lunar Research Flights Vol. I.” Air Force Special Weapons Center, 1959.
Group 3: Intelligence Community
Evaluate Sydney Wesley Finer, “The Kidnapping of the Lunik," and CIA, “Preliminary Analysis of Luna-9 Photography.” June 1966.