Four astronauts journey to a cold planet only thirty degrees above absolute zero and inhabited by tiny aliens who have created a complex civilization.

Michel van Pelt explains for the first time the principle of space tethers: what they are and how they can be used in space. He introduces non-technical space enthusiasts to the various possibilities and feasibility of space tethers including the technological challenges and potential benefits. He illustrates how, because of their inherent simplicity, space tethers have the potential to make space travel much cheaper, while ongoing advances in tether material technology may make even seemingly far-fetched ideas a reality in the not too distant future.

Now in its third edition, this textbook is a comprehensive introduction to the multidisciplinary field of mobile robotics, which lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence, computational vision, and traditional robotics. Written for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in computer science and engineering, the book covers algorithms for a range of strategies for locomotion, sensing, and reasoning. The new edition includes recent advances in robotics and intelligent machines, including coverage of human-robot interaction, robot ethics, and the application of advanced AI techniques to end-to-end robot control and specific computational tasks. This book also provides support for a number of algorithms using ROS 2, and includes a review of critical mathematical material and an extensive list of sample problems. Researchers as well as students in the field of mobile robotics will appreciate this comprehensive treatment of state-of-the-art methods and key technologies.

“Weird indeed, and not a little wonderful.”—Nature In the 1980s and 1990s, in places where no one thought it possible, scientists found organisms they called extremophiles: lovers of extremes. There were bacteria in volcanic hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, single-celled algae in Antarctic ice floes, and fungi in the cooling pools of nuclear reactors. But might there be life stranger than the most extreme extremophile? Might there be, somewhere, another kind of life entirely? In fact, scientists have hypothesized life that uses ammonia instead of water, life based not in carbon but in silicon, life driven by nuclear chemistry, and life whose very atoms are unlike those in life we know. In recent years some scientists have begun to look for the tamer versions of such life on rock surfaces in the American Southwest, in a “shadow biosphere” that might impinge on the known biosphere, and even deep within human tissue. They have also hypothesized more radical versions that might survive in Martian permafrost, in the cold ethylene lakes on Saturn’s moon Titan, and in the hydrogen-rich atmospheres of giant planets in other solar systems. And they have imagined it in places off those worlds: the exotic ices in comets, the vast spaces between the stars, and—strangest of all—parallel universes. Distilling complex science in clear and lively prose, David Toomey illuminates the research of the biological avant-garde and describes the workings of weird organisms in riveting detail. His chapters feature an unforgettable cast of brilliant scientists and cover everything from problems with our definitions of life to the possibility of intelligent weird life. With wit and understanding that will delight scientists and lay readers alike, Toomey reveals how our current knowledge of life forms may account for only a tiny fraction of what’s really out there.

Communicating Science is an ideal introduction for anyone who wants to learn about the relationship between science, the media and the public.

A ship becomes stranded on a huge flying creature that lives in the Saturnian skies, where five intrepid humans are attempting to find a way to convert the planet Saturn's atmospheric chemicals into cheap fuel for interplanetary travel.

Annotated bibliography of the Arthurian legend in modern English-language fiction, not only in literary texts, but in television, music, and art. The legend of Arthur has been a source of fascination for writers and artists in English since the fifteenth century, when Thomas Malory drew together for the first time in English a variety of Arthurian stories from a number of sources to form the Morte Darthur. It increased in popularity during the Victorian era, when after Tennyson's treatment of the legend, not only authors and dramatists, but painters, musicians, and film-makers found a sourceof inspiration in the Arthurian material. This interdisciplinary, annotated bibliography lists the Arthurian legend in modern English-language fiction, from 1500 to 2000, including literary texts, film, television, music, visual art, and games. It will prove an invaluable source of reference for students of literary and visual arts, general readers, collectors, librarians, and cultural historians--indeed, by anyone interested in the history of the waysin which Camelot has figured in post-medieval English-speaking cultures. ANN F. HOWEY is Assistant Professor at Brock University, Canada; STEPHEN R. REIMER is Associate Professor at the University of Alberta, Canada

This reference tracks the development of speculative fiction influenced by the advancement of science and the idea of progress from the eighteenth century to the present day. The major authors and publications of the genre and significant subgenres are covered. Additionally there are entries on fields of science and technology which have been particularly prolific in provoking such speculation. The list of acronyms and abbreviations, the chronology covering the literature from the 1700s through the present, the introductory essay, and the dictionary entries provide science fiction novices and enthusiasts as well as serious writers and critics with a wonderful foundation for understanding the realm of science fiction literature. The extensive bibliography that includes books, journals, fanzines, and websites demonstrates that science fiction literature commands a massive following.

What really happened at the moment of the Big Bang? And how the hell do we know? And why is finding out so important? And who are these people who design and build these experiments? And is it all worth it? Andy Martin sets out on a road trip to search for the soul of the universe. In his personal quest for the mother of all truths, he has to go all the way back to the origin of time and space. He climbs up to the highest observatory in the world and sticks his head inside a 4 km-long laser tube capable of surfing waves from the Big Bang. He sees himself the way he used to be in a mirror and he discovers where you go when you die. He has close encounters with aliens and intimations of immortality. This book has everything -- science, philosophy, literature, religion, Einstein, Weinstein, God, the Godfather, all seen through a glass darkly.

Merlin Mission Books 1-4 of the #1 New York Times bestselling Magic Tree House series! Beyond the realms of time and space are lands that exist only in myths and legends. This is where the magic tree house is taking Jack and Annie on the mission of a lifetime! They will visit Camelot, a haunted castle, an island lost in mist, and the Land-Behind-the-Clouds. It is one unforgettable adventure! Recently rebranded, the first 4 Magic Tree House Merlin Mission books are the perfect gift for fans of the Magic Tree House series. Parents, teachers, and librarians hail the chapter-book series as a tool to promote reading, as even the most reluctant readers want to know where the magic tree house will take the brother-and-sister team next. Magic Tree House Merlin Missions are more challenging adventures for the experienced Magic Tree House reader. Books in this Merlin Missions set include: Christmas in Camelot (#1), Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve (#2), Summer of the Sea Serpent (#3), Winter of the Ice Wizard (#4).