Scientists, engineers and exploration advocates will gather in central California this week to help plan out humanity's journey to the stars.
The action is happening in Monterey Monday through Wednesday (Aug. 7 through Aug. 9), at a conference called Starship Congress 2017.
"Our question for Starship Congress 2017 is what role the moon can play to catalyze humankind's venturing forth to explore interstellarly," conference organizers wrote in a description of the event. "Furthermore, this year's theme builds on a key take-away from the Starship Congress 2015 summit at Drexel University: In order to make interstellar space exploration interesting to everyone, what must we do to make space accessible for everybody?"
The speakers include physicist Miguel Alcubierre, who in 1994 proposed a type of real-life warp drive that could theoretically enable faster-than-light travel without breaking the laws of physics; planetary scientist Franck Marchis; scientist and sci-fi author David Brin; and Richard Obousy, co-founder and director of Icarus Interstellar, a nonprofit dedicated to helping make interstellar flight a reality by 2100. (Icarus Interstellar is organizing the conference.)
To learn more about Starship Congress 2017, visit the conference page here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/starship-congress-2017-tickets-33352347770
Space.com's Mike Wall will be in attendance, keeping tabs on the most exciting developments.
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