The First Space War : How the Patterns of History and the Principles of STEM Will Shape Its Form

Using history, politics and STEM as guides, this book provides a detailed account of how Earths first war in space will be fought. As the authors show, it will begin not as an invasion of Earth by super-advanced aliens but by Earth starting a war with its Martian colony. Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction 12 1 The Motives for Colonization: How to Not Go Broke Accumulating Money 16 2 The Boogeyman in the Dark: Fear of Flying Rocks 30 3 The Gravity Well: Defining the High Ground 40 4 Space Mining: A Lesson in the Periodic Table of Wealth 50 5 Humans or Humanoids: Why People Are a Bargain 60 6 Terraforming: A Critical Step in the Recipe for Making Martians 70 7 Energy Production: The Nuclear and Solar Options 82 8 Manufacturing on Mars: A Means of Taming Nature for Survival 96 9 The One-WayTrip: Who Goes to Mars Stays on Mars 108 10 The Inevitable Sources of Conflict: Lies, Misunderstandings, and Taxation without Representation 120 11 Earthlings Prepare to Invade: Going to War by the Public Transportation System 132 12 Collaborators, Spies, and Panic: Nothing Focuses the Mind Like the Hangman’s Noose 146 13 Hollywood Strikes Back: Why the WWII Aircraft Carrier Model Doesn’t Work for Outer Space Battles 154 14 Stealth: The Key to Survival? 166 15 Arming the Resistance: They’re Coming for Us; Break out the Printers 178 16 Earth Invades Mars: A Strategic Overview 190 17 Physical and Cyber Counterattacks: Don’t Mess with a Martian; He Might Throw Rocks at You 198 18 Negotiations and Aftermath: What to Do with the Tories? 210 Conclusions 224 Bibliography 232 Index 244 About the Authors 254 "Unfortunately, much of what people believe about war in space has been shaped, or misshaped, by Hollywood and other forms of popular media. In this book a STEM educator and a political science professor team up to explore the possibilities for warfare in space and explain why almost everything you've learned about space wars from movies is disappointingly wrong. The truth is stranger and more interesting than fiction. Using history, politics and STEM as guides, this book provides a detailed account of how Earth's first war in space will be fought. As we show, it will begin not as an invasion of Earth by super-advanced aliens but by Earth starting a war with its Martian colony."--Back cover.