Future Topics in Space

This chapter focuses on critical topics for future exploration (primarily human) in deep space. Issues dealing with interplanetary contamination, space tourism (companies: SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, Space Adventures), and the reality and challenges of traveling to outer space well beyond Earth are discussed. The challenges of establishing a human colony on a celestial body or in an orbiting space station are examined. Finally, the latest on the search for Extraterrestial Intelligence (SETI) is debated.