Why We'll Never Live in Space

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September 21, 2023

This week, we are—or I am, at least—saying "never say 'never.'" Our lead story is also on the cover of Scientific American's latest (and freshly redesigned!) print edition, and makes a thorough, thought-provoking argument for why we'll never live in space. Personally speaking, I wouldn't bet on our becoming truly extraterrestrial anytime soon. But I wouldn't bet against it, either. "Never," after all, is a very strong statement to make, extending as it does into the unknowable depths of eternity. But enough about my opinions; read the article, then share what you think! Elsewhere, we have stories on strangely discordant black holes, next steps in NASA's studies of unidentified anomalous phenomena, spacecraft-smacking solar outbursts, and much more. Be sure to also read this week's blast-from-the-past "From the Archive" selection, which in 2016 offered an expert-authored overview of the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission now slated to drop its precious payload back on Earth this Sunday, circa 11am Eastern Daylight Time.

Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Space & Physics

Space Exploration Why We'll Never Live in Space Medical, financial and ethical hurdles stand in the way of the dream to settle in space By Sarah Scoles

Engineering Introducing Scientific American's Redesign, Newsletter and Podcasts Geoengineering is happening, AI wants to talk with animals, and why we aren't going to live in space By Laura Helmuth

Arts Behind the Scenes of Scientific American's Redesign Today we introduce to the world Scientific American's redesign, which we hope will nod to our rich history while also look forward to the everchanging landscape of publishing By Michael Mrak

Black Holes JWST Finds Strange Harmony in Early Galaxies and Black Holes Black holes in the extraordinarily distant cosmos are out of tune with their host galaxies, offering insights into their formation By Fabio Pacucci

Extraterrestrial Life NASA Wants to Make UFO Studies a Real Science NASA has appointed a director of unidentified anomalous phenomena research to advance that area of scientific investigation By Meghan Bartels

Extraterrestrial Life UFO Research Is Only Harmed by Antigovernment Rhetoric Conspiracy theories and, relatedly, antigovernment sentiment could prove toxic to any factual and scientific discussion of unidentified anomalous phenomena By Marek N. Posard,Caitlin McCulloch

Planetary Science Ada Limón's Poem for Europa, Jupiter's Smallest Galilean Moon U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón discusses her involvement in NASA's Europa Clipper mission and the inspiration behind her poem, which will travel onboard the spacecraft. By Brianne Kane,Kelso Harper,Carin Leong | 14:27

Space Exploration Massive Sun Outburst Smacks NASA Spacecraft If it had hit Earth, this coronal mass ejection could have caused continent-scale blackouts, scientists say By Meghan Bartels

Astronomy Can You Spot a Satellite? Thousands of spacecraft circle Earth. Seeing them from the ground is surprisingly easy—and a lot of fun By Phil Plait

Privacy Satellite Internet Companies Could Help Break Authoritarianism In Iran and elsewhere, governments restrict Internet access to restrict freedoms. Companies that launch communications satellites can ensure a free and open Internet for all By Pouria Nazemi

Psychology Moon Landing Denial Fired an Early Antiscience Conspiracy Theory Shot Apollo moon landing conspiracy theories were early hints of the dangerous anti-vax, antiscience beliefs backed by politicians today By Phil Plait

Astronomy NASA's Gorgeous New Moon Image Paints Shackleton Crater in Light and Shadow A new NASA instrument allows researchers to view the bright and permanently shadowed portions of the moon's Shackleton Crater at the same time By Stephanie Pappas

Quantum Physics Scientists Find a New Spin on Winning the 'Bottle Flip' Challenge Do try this at home By Elise Cutts

Climate Change It's Time to Engineer the Sky Global warming is so rampant that some scientists say we should begin altering the stratosphere to block incoming sunlight, even if it jeopardizes rain and crops By Douglas Fox

QUOTE OF THE DAY "Should we actually send people on these sorts of things? It's one thing just to survive, but it's another thing to actually enjoy your life. Is Mars going to be the equivalent of torture?" Brian Patrick Green, an technology ethicist at Santa Clara University, on an ethical quandary posed by long-duration human spaceflight and extraterrestrial emigration

FROM THE ARCHIVE To Bennu and Back The OSIRIS-REx probe's journey to the asteroid Bennu will answer questions about our deepest past and possible futures By Dante S. Lauretta | August 2016

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