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hteenth　and　nineteenth　centuries；　American　and　Russian　explorers；　traders；　and　settlers　raced　west　and　east　across　two　vast　continents　to　the　Pacific。　This　zest　to　explore　and　exploit；　however　thoughtless　its　agents　may　have　been；　has　clear　survival　value。　It　is　not　restricted　to　any　one　nation　or　ethnic　group。　It　is　an　endowment　that　all　members　of　the　human　species　hold　in　mon。

Since　we　first　emerged；　a　few　million　years　ago　in　East　Africa；　we　have　meandered　our　way　around　the　planet。　There　are　now　people　on　every　continent　and　the　remotest　islands；　from　pole　to　pole；　from　Mount　Everest　to　the　Dead　Sea；　on　the　ocean　bottoms　and　even；　occasionally；　in　residence　200　miles　up—humans；　like　the　gods　of　old；　living　in　the　sky。

These　days　there　seems　to　be　nowhere　left　to　explore；　at　least　on　the　land　area　of　the　Earth。　Victims　of　their　very　success　the　explorers　now　pretty　much　stay　home。

Vast　migrations　of　people—some　voluntary；　most　not—　have　shaped　the　human　condition。　More　of　us　flee　from　war；　oppression；　and　famine　today　than　at　any　other　time　in　human　history。　As　the　Earth's　climate　changes　in　the　ing　decade。　there　are　likely　to　be　far　greater　numbers　of　environmental　refugees。　Better　places　will　always　call　to　us。　Tides　of　people　will　continue　to　ebb　and　flow　across　the　planet。　But　the　lands　we　run　to　now　have　already　been　settled。　Other　people；　often　unsympathetic　to　our　plight；　are　there　before　us。



LATE　IN　THE　NINETEENTH　CENTURY；　Leib　Gruber　was　growing　up　111　Central　Europe；　in　an　obscure　town　in　the　immense；　polyglot；　ancient　Austro…Hungarian　Empire。　His　father　sold　fish　when　he　could。　But　times　were　often　hard。　As　a　young　man；　the　only　honest　employment　Leib　could　find　was　carrying　people　across　the　nearby　river　Bug。　The　customer；　male　or　female；　would　mount　Leib's　back；　in　his　prized　boots；　the　tools　of　his　trade；　he　would　wade　out　in　a　shallow　stretch　of　the　river　and　deliver　his　passenger　to　the　opposite　bank。　Sometimes　the　water　reached　his　waist。　There　were　no　bridges　here；　no　ferryboats。　Horses　might　have　served　the　purpose；　but　they　had　other　uses。　That　left　Leib　and　a　few　other　young　men　like　him。　They　had　no　other　uses。　No　other　work　was　available。　They　would　lounge　about　the　riverbank；　calling　out　their　prices；　boasting　to　potential　customers　about　the　superiority　of　their　drayage。　They　hired　themselves　out　like　four…footed　animals。　My　grandfather　was　a　beast　of　burden

I　don't　think　that　in　all　his　young　manhood　Leib　had　ventured　more　than　a　hundred　kilometers　from　his　little　hometown　of　Sassow。　But　then；　in　1904；　he　suddenly　ran　away　to　the　New　World　to　avoid　a　murder　rap；　according　to　one　family　legend。　He　left　his　young　wife　behind。　How　different　from　his　tiny　back…water　hamlet　the　great　German　port　cities　must　have　seemed；　how　vast　the　ocean；　how　strange　the　lofty　skyscrapers　and　endless　hub…bub　of　his　new　land。　We　know　nothing　of　his　crossing；　but　have　found　the　ship's　manifest　for　the　journey　undertaken　later　by　his　wife；　Chaiya　joining　Leib　after　he　had　saved　enough　to　bring　her　over。　She　traveled　in　the　cheapest　class　on　the　Batavia；　a　vessel　of　Hamburg　registry。　There's　something　heartbreakingly　terse　about　the　document：　Can　she　read　or　write？　No。　Can　she　speak　English？　No。　How　much　money　does　she　have？　I　can　imagine　her　vulnerability　and　her　shame　as　she　replies；　〃One　dollar。〃

She　disembarked　in　New　York；　was　reunited　with　Leib；　lived　just　long　enough　to　give　birth　to　my　mother　and　her　sister；　and　then　died　from　〃plications〃　of　childbirth。　In　those　few　years　in　America；　her　name　had　sometimes　been　anglicized　to　Clara。　A　quarter　century　later；　my　mother　named　her　own　firstborn；　a　son；　after　the　mother　she　never　knew。



OUR　DISTANT　ANCESTORS；　watching　the　stars；　noted　five　that　did　more　than　rise　and　set　in　stolid　procession；　as　the　so…called　〃fixed〃　stars　did。　These　five　had　a　curious　and　plex　motion。　Over　the　months　they　seemed　to　wander　slowly　among　the　stars。　Sometimes　they　did　loops。　Today　we　call　them　planets；　the　Greek　word　for　wanderers。　It　was；　I　imagine；　a　peculiarity　our　ancestors　could　relate　to。

We　know　now　that　the　planets　are　not　stars；　but　other　worlds；　gravitationally　lashed　to　the　Sun。　Just　as　the　exploration　of　the　Earth　was　being　pleted；　we　began　to　recognize　it　as　one　world　among　an　uncounted　multitude　of　others；　circling　the　Sun　or　orbiting　the　other　stars　that　make　up　the　Milky　Way　galaxy。　Our　planet　and　our　solar　system　are　surrounded　by　a　new　world　ocean　the　depths　of　space。　It　is　no　more　impassable　than　the　last。

Maybe　it's　a　little　early。　Maybe　the　time　is　not　quite　yet。　But　those　other　worlds—promising　untold　opportunities—beckon。

In　the　last　few　decades；　the　United　States　and　the　former　Soviet　Union　have　acplished　something　stunning　and　historic—the　close…up　examination　of　all　those　points　of　light；　from　Mercury　to　Saturn；　that　moved　our　ancestors　to　wonder　and　to　science。　Since　the　advent　of　successful　interplanetary　flight　in　1962；　our　machines　have　flown　by；　orbited；　or　landed　on　more　than　seventy　new　worlds。　We　have　wandered　among　the　wanderers。　We　have　found　vast　volcanic　eminences　that　dwarf　the　highest　mountain　on　Earth；　ancient　river　valleys　on　two　planets　enigmatically　one　too　cold　and　the　other　too　hot　for　running　water；　a　giant　planet　with　an　interior　of　liquid　metallic　hydrogen　into　which　a　thousand　Earths　would　fit；　whole　moons　that　have　melted；　a　cloud…covered　place　with　an　atmosphere　of　corrosive　raids；　where　even　the　high　plateaus　are　above　the　melting　point　of　lead　ancient　surfaces　on　which　a　faithful　record　of　the　violent　formation　of　the　Solar　System　is　engraved；　refugee　ice　worlds　from　the　transplutonian　depths；　exquisitely　patterned　ring　systems；　marking　the　subtle　harmonies　of　gravity；　and　a　world　surrounded　by　clouds　of　plex　organic　molecules　like　those　that　m　the　earliest　history　of　our　planet　led　to　the　origin　of　life。　Silently；　they　orbit　the　Sun；　waiting。

We　have　uncovered　wonders　undreamt　by　our　ancestors　who　first　speculated　on　the　nature　of　those　wandering　lights　in　the　night　sky。　We　have　probed　the　origins　of　our　planet　and　ourselves。　By　discovering　what　else　is　possible；　by　ing　face　to　face　with　alternative　fates　of　worlds　more　or　less　like　our　own；　we　have　begun　to　better　understand　the　Earth。　Every　one　of　these　worlds　is　lovely　and　instructive。　But；　so　far　as　we　know；　they　are　also；　every　one　of　them；　desolate　and　barren。　Out　there；　there　are　no　〃better　places。〃　So　far；　at　least。

During　the　Viking　robotic　mission；　beginning　in　July　1976；　in　a　certain　sense　I　spent　a　year　on　Mars。　I　examined　the　boulders　and　sand　dunes；　the　sky　red　even　at　high　noon；　the　ancient　river　valleys；　the　soaring　volcanic　mountains；　the　fierce　wind　erosion；　the　laminated　polar　terrain；　the　two　dark　potato…shaped　moons。　But　there　was　no　life—not　a　cricket　or　a　blade　of　grass；　or　even；　so　far　as　we　can　tell　for　sure；　a　microbe。　These　worlds　have　not　been　graced；　as　ours　has；　by　life。　Life　is　a　parative　rarity。　You　can　survey　dozens　of　worlds　and　find　that　on　only　one　of　them　does　life　arise　and　evolve　and　persist。

Having　in　all　their　lives　till　then　crossed　nothing　wider　than　a　layer；　Leib　and　Chaiya　graduated　to　crossing　oceans。　They　had　one　great　advantage：　On　the　other　side　of　the　waters　there　would　be…invested　with　outlandish　customs；　it　is　true—other　human　beings　speaking　their　language　and　sharing　at　least　some　of　their　values；　even　people　to　whom　they　were　closely　related。

In　our　time　we've　crossed　the　Solar　System　and　sent　four　ships　to　the　stars。　Neptune　lies　a　million　times　farther　from　Earth　than　New　York　City　is　from　the　banks　of　the　Bug。　But　there　are　no　distant　relatives；　no　humans；　and　apparently　no　life　waiting　for　us　on　those　other　worlds。　No　letters　conveyed　by　recent　émigrés　help　us　to　understand　the　new　land—　only　digital　data　transmitted　at　the　speed　of　light　by　unfeeling；　precise　robot　emissaries。　They　tell　us　that　these　new　worlds　are　not　much　like　home。　But　we　continue　to　search　for　inhabitants。　We　can't　help　it。　Life　looks　for　life。

No　one　on　Earth；　not　the　richest　among　us；　can　afford　the　passage；　so　we　can't　pick　up　and　leave　for　Mars　or　Titan　on　a　whim；　or　because　we're　bored；　or　out　of　work；　or　drafted　into　the　army；　or　oppressed；　or　because；　justly　or　unjustly；　we've　been　accused　of　a　crime。　There　does　not　seem　to　be　sufficient　short…term　profit　to　motivate　private　industry。　If　we　humans　ever　go　to　these　worlds；　then；　it　will　be　because　a　nation　or　a　consortium　of　them　believes　it　to　be　to　its　advantage—or　to　the　advantage　of　the　human　species。　Just　now；　there　are　a　great　many　matters　pressing　in　on　us　that　pete　for　the　money　it　takes　to　send　people　to　other　worlds。

That's　what　this　book　is　about：　other　worlds；　what　awaits　us　on　them；　what　they　tell　us　about　ourselves；　and—given　the　urgent　problems　our　species　now　faces—whether　it　makes　sense　to　go。　Should　we　solve　those　problems　first？　Or　are　they　a　reason　for　going？

This　book　is；　in　many　ways；　optimistic　about　the　human　prospect。　The　earliest　chapters　may　at　first　sight　seem　to　revel　overmuch　in　our　imperfections。　But　they　lay　an　essential　spiritual　and　logical　foundation　for　the　development　of　my　argument。

I　have　tried　to　p