John S. Lewis
Encyclopedia
John S. Lewis is a professor of planetary science
at the University of Arizona
’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. His interests in the chemistry and formation of the solar system
and the economic development of space
have made him a leading proponent of turning potentially hazardous near-Earth object
s into attractive space resources. Prior to joining the University of Arizona, Lewis taught space sciences and cosmochemistry
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
. He received his education at Princeton University
, Dartmouth College
and the University of California, San Diego
, where he studied under Harold Urey
.
An expert on the composition and chemistry of asteroid
s and comet
s, Lewis has written such popular science books as Rain of Iron and Ice and Mining the Sky
. Lewis is also highly respected member of The Watch Council of The Space Frontier Foundation
. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Lewis is a frequent commentator on the Chinese network CCTV when China broadcasts its major missions live.
Planetary science
Planetary science is the scientific study of planets , moons, and planetary systems, in particular those of the Solar System and the processes that form them. It studies objects ranging in size from micrometeoroids to gas giants, aiming to determine their composition, dynamics, formation,...
at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. His interests in the chemistry and formation of the solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
and the economic development of space
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
have made him a leading proponent of turning potentially hazardous near-Earth object
Near-Earth object
A near-Earth object is a Solar System object whose orbit brings it into close proximity with the Earth. All NEOs have a perihelion distance less than 1.3 AU. They include a few thousand near-Earth asteroids , near-Earth comets, a number of solar-orbiting spacecraft, and meteoroids large enough to...
s into attractive space resources. Prior to joining the University of Arizona, Lewis taught space sciences and cosmochemistry
Cosmochemistry
Cosmochemistry or chemical cosmology is the study of the chemical composition of matter in the universe and the processes that led to those compositions. This is done primarily through the study of the chemical composition of meteorites and other physical samples...
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. He received his education at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
and the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, where he studied under Harold Urey
Harold Urey
Harold Clayton Urey was an American physical chemist whose pioneering work on isotopes earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1934...
.
An expert on the composition and chemistry of asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
s and comet
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
s, Lewis has written such popular science books as Rain of Iron and Ice and Mining the Sky
Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets
Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets is a book by John S. Lewis which discusses the development of interplanetary space within our solar system....
. Lewis is also highly respected member of The Watch Council of The Space Frontier Foundation
Space Frontier Foundation
The Space Frontier Foundation is a space advocacy nonprofit corporation organized to promote the interests of increased involvement of the private sector, in collaboration with government, in the exploration and development of space...
. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Lewis is a frequent commentator on the Chinese network CCTV when China broadcasts its major missions live.
See also
- Marshall SavageMarshall SavageMarshall Thomas Savage is an advocate of space travel who wrote The Millennial Project: Colonizing the Galaxy in Eight Easy Steps and founded the Living Universe Foundation, which was designed to make plans for stellar exploration over the next 1,000 years....
- author of The Millennial Project: Colonizing the Galaxy in Eight Easy StepsThe Millennial Project: Colonizing the Galaxy in Eight Easy StepsThe Millennial Project: Colonizing the Galaxy in Eight Easy Steps by Marshall T. Savage is a book in the field of Exploratory engineering that gives a series of concrete stages the author believes will lead to interstellar colonization... - Gerard O'NeillGerard O'NeillGerard Kitchen O'Neill was an American physicist and space activist. As a faculty member of Princeton University, he invented a device called the particle storage ring for high-energy physics experiments. Later, he invented a magnetic launcher called the mass driver...
- author of The High Frontier: Human Colonies in SpaceThe High Frontier: Human Colonies in SpaceThe High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space is a 1976 book by Gerard K. O'Neill, a road map for what the United States might do in outer space after the Apollo program, the drive to place a man on the Moon. It envisions large manned habitats in the Earth-Moon system, especially near stable... - James BensonJames BensonJames William Benson , also known as Jim Benson, was the founder of SpaceDev, a commercial satellite and satellite component development company, and Benson Space Company, a civilian spaceflight venture focused on commercial space tourism.-Biography:Benson spent thirty years associated with the...
- founder of the SpaceDevSpaceDevSpaceDev, a part of the "Space Systems Business" of Sierra Nevada Corporation, is prominent for its spaceflight and microsatellite work. It designed and built the hybrid rocket motors for Paul Allen's Tier One suborbital SpaceShipOne space program operated by Scaled Composites...
company - The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We MustThe Case For MarsThe Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must is a nonfiction science book by Robert Zubrin, first published in 1996....
by Robert ZubrinRobert ZubrinRobert Zubrin is an American aerospace engineer and author, best known for his advocacy of the manned exploration of Mars. He was the driving force behind Mars Direct—a proposal intended to produce significant reductions in the cost and complexity of such a mission... - Engines of CreationEngines of CreationEngines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology is a 1986 molecular nanotechnology book written by K. Eric Drexler with a foreword by Marvin Minsky. An updated version was released in 2007...
by K. Eric DrexlerK. Eric DrexlerDr. Kim Eric Drexler is an American engineer best known for popularizing the potential of molecular nanotechnology , from the 1970s and 1980s.His 1991 doctoral thesis at MIT was revised and published as... - Asteroid 3554 Amun3554 Amun3554 Amun is an M-type Aten asteroid and a Venus-crosser. It was discovered on 4 March 1986 by Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker at Mount Palomar Observatory. Its estimated diameter is 2.5 kilometers, making it one of the smallest known M-type asteroids.Amun was once considered metallic, based on its...
External links
- John Lewis's web page at the University of Arizona.