Dr. Jacob Haqq-Misra was recently featured on the New Yorker Radio Hour in a segment titled “Why Do You Want to Go to Mars?” Archive editor Josh Rothman hosts a conversation with Dr. Haqq-Misra and Elizabeth Kolbert, a New Yorker staff writer, about the prospects and perils of attempting the human colonization of Mars. [listen to the segment at WNYC.org]
Read moreSara Bruhns and Jacob Haqq-Misra recently published a paper titled “A pragmatic approach to sovereignty on Mars” in the journal Space Policy. Sara performed this work during her participation in the BMSIS Young Scientist Program. Below is a short summary of this idea. National space agencies and private corporations have declared plans to send humans to the red planet, with longer-term planets of settlement and resource extraction likely to follow. Such actions may conflict with the Outer Space Treaty, which […]
Read moreWe are pleased to announce that the first volume of the Blue Marble Space Short Story Collection is now available! This volume, titled Tales From Spaceship Earth, includes stories from six of our scientists and is the first in an ongoing series of science-informed fiction. This collection of stories reflects an intersection of each author’s knowledge of science and vision of the future. These unique perspectives range from the near-term evolution of the space station program, to the beginnings of […]
Read moreShould Mars be designated as independent of Earth, prior to the arrival of any human colonists? A new article by Popular Science discusses Dr. Jacob Haqq-Misra’s proposal of “liberating Mars” to allow for the development of a second instance of civilization. Rather than a conventional colony as has been seen through history, an independent and liberated Mars could provide a testbed for new and radical ideas in civilization. This idea was initially featured by Popular Science and generated subsequent coverage […]
Read moreA recent article in the Kernel features Michael Busch, Dimitra Atri, and Jacob Haqq-Misra on the subject of sending messages into space. The Lone Signal project of 2013 was an attempt at sending a crowdfunded message toward the star Gliese 526, and the article discusses both the funding perils and security concerns over this and other attempts at broadcasting messages that extraterrestrial intelligence might receive. [read the article at the Kernel]
Read moreOur “Beer with BMSIS” podcast for May features a discussion between Dr. Sanjoy Som and Dr. Jacob Haqq-Misra about the philosophical question “Why explore space?“. One of the questions raised by skeptics of space exploration is the particular value that this enterprise adds to human civilization. The auxiliary discoveries of space exploration often are cited as the reasons for public investment, such as technologies that resulted from investment in space exploration but now benefit everyday consumers. Other reasons for valuing […]
Read moreDr. Sanjoy Som and Dr. Jacob Haqq-Misra Beverage: Irish Death (United States – Washington) Listen: [mp3 download] [ca_audio url=”http://beerwith.bmsis.org/BwBMSIS_29_MAY2014.mp3″ width=”500″ height=”27″ css_class=”codeart-google-mp3-player”]
Read moreAstronomy Magazine’s blog features a story about the SETI Lottery Bond devised by BMSIS research scientist Dr. Jacob Haqq-Misra. Although this idea may be a long way from implementation, novel sources of funding will ultimately be needed if SETI is to conduct the long-term search required for its success. Written by Suzanne Jacobs, a graduate student in the MIT science writing program, the article examines the SETI Lottery Bond idea from a variety of perspectives in hopes that SETI will […]
Read moreA new paper led by Dr. Jacob Haqq-Misra proposes lottery bonds as a mechanism for funding science research by appealing to investors, rather than donors. The paper is titled “Funding the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence with a Lottery Bond” and has been submitted for publication to Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. In a new episode of our podcast series “Pubs with BMSIS”, join Brendan Mullen in a conversation with Dr. Haqq-Misra about this new proposed method of funding SETI. […]
Read moreAiring on September 13th at 9:00 PM Eastern, the new show “Target Earth” on History 2 features BMSIS research scientist Dr. Jacob Haqq-Misra as an interviewee. The show explores the possibility of direct contact with extraterrestrial intelligent beings and considers areas where our civilization may be particularly vulnerable. A speculative scenario, “Target Earth” includes interviews with a variety of scientists, engineers, and former government officials to weave its narrative. [View the History 2 Channel Schedule]
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