When we land on another planet, we’ll find out if it’s either alive or dead. Q: But what if we could get to another planet for colonization?Ī: This is a mistake because there’s no place other than Earth where humanity can be healthy and safe. The actual colonization of Mars is centuries away, and terraforming it (transforming it to support human life) might be a 10,000-year project. Let’s be clear we’re talking about astronauts going there, doing scientific studies and coming back. Q: Your “Mars” series speculated on colonizing Mars, and a new book “How We’ll Live On Mars” by Stephen Petranek says we’ll be on the Red Planet by 2027.Ī: Mars is in the ballpark, but we’re still 35 years out. Even the closest star systems are too far away. The harder you press it, the more you realize it won’t work. Q: “Aurora” touches on the growing notion that humankind will soon be able to leave Earth and start fresh on another planet.Ī: It’s a nasty proposition and a wrong idea.

This short and sharp interview with the Sacramento Bee sets the stage for these hotly debated ideas at the center of Aurora: More than just human DNA inside the human body, the fuel problem for acceleration/deceleration, the non-realism of the staple of faster-than-light travem in most science fiction, the complexity of maintaining a functioning society in a confined space, the way humans and all living creatures we know evolved and are tailored for life on Earth, on the development of artificial intelligence, these are some of the issues tackled in the interviews discussing Aurora.īeware of spoilers! Aurora, moreso than your typical KSR novel, has twists and turns and page-turner developments as the Aurora mission unfolds. The entire first chapter of Aurora, 'Starship Girl', is available to read at Orbit Books. This is a good piece of promotional material by Orbit Books, similar to their illustration on how to build a terrarium from 2312!

Stan explains the concept and motivation for the novel, and his talking is complete by animation. This video is a great introduction to Aurora. Kim Stanley Robinson's latest, AURORA, has been out for two months now.

Aurora kim stanley