The earthbound face extinction - Hawking

The human race must look to outer space within the next century or it will become extinct, Professor Stephen Hawking has warned [Daily Telegraph].

Richard Alleyne
Science Correspondent
Daily Telegraph

The renowned astrophysicist said he fears mankind is in great danger and its future "must be in space" if it is to survive.

In an interview he said threats to the existence of the human race such as war, resource depletion and overpopulation meant it was at its greater risk ever.

Although a long advocate of colonising space in order to continue man's reign, this is his direst warning to date.

"It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand or million," he told the website Big Think.

"Our only chance of long-term survival is not to remain inward looking on planet Earth but to spread out into space.

Read the article, HERE.

Stephanie Wilson to discuss Shuttle experience at University of Texas

NASA astronaut Stephanie Wilson, an engineering alumnus who is the second black woman to have flown in space, will speak on her shuttle experiences. The title of her speech is "Space Construction of the International Space Station: A Personal Journey," from 2-3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26

The talk with take place at theApplied Computational Engineering and Sciences Building (ACES) Avaya Auditorium at The University of Texas at Austin. A campus map can be found online.

Wilson's talk will focus on her experiences as a veteran of two space flights (STS-121 in 2006 and STS-120 in 2007), totaling 28 days in orbit. She also is assigned to the crew of STS-131 scheduled for launch February 2010.

During STS-121, the Space Shuttle Discovery crew tested new equipment and procedures that increase the safety of space shuttles and repaired a rail car on the International Space Station. Wilson supported robotic arm operations for vehicle inspection, multi-purpose logistics module installation and was responsible for the transfer of more than 28,000 pounds of supplies and equipment to the space station.

For STS-120, the crew delivered the Node 2 module named Harmony to ISS, allowing future international laboratories to be added to the space station. The crew also conducted spacewalks to repair the station's solar array.After her talk, Wilson will present to university faculty a school banner that flew with her aboard STS-121.

Wilson's NASA bio is online.