Human Exploration of Space

John Roskey

November 19, 2012

Hello All, First, thanks for TPS and for this forum. I believe our vision should be about human exploration of space. If not only to satisfy our curiosity, but also to perpetuate our species and to search for other life. But to do that, I think we need to concentrate on our own solar system first. In particular, we need to expand our knowledge base. That means more missions. Since weight is related to cost, we should concentrate on smaller, smarter probes. And especially on swarms of small, autonomous sensor systems. Summed together, these could form vastly more complex systems, in the same way that distributed systems do on earth. They could even form the basis for an extremely large aperture telescope, one that could be added to for years to come. We also need to develop a next generation space drive. Again, small is better. Let's sponsor and test new concepts in deep space drive systems. Together, a deeper understanding of our immediate solar system, and the means to get there, will get humans permanently into space sooner. That is my vision. Thank you.