Plan B to the Moon

Plan B to the Moon presents a coherent executable plan, readable and believable story, that defines how to return humans to the surface and colonize the Moon. Considerable effort went into making this book relatable to non-experts (non-rocket-scientists). Do you have within you the profound, burning desire to explore? Were you inspired in your youth by the opening sequence of Star Trek episodes, "To Seek out New Worlds and New Civilizations?" If your answers are lukewarm yes or emphatic no, there may be little anyone can say to you to convince you of the profound need for and premise of space exploration. But consider these facts, we carry in our DNA the need for exploration. Every person alive today is the descendent of explorers and wanderers. Exploration is central to who we are as humans. Only our ancestors that left their old homes to find new homes survived. The people that stayed behind did not survive catastrophic change and their stay-behind DNA no longer has any influence over the future of our species. There are tens of thousands of fictional stories based on science that eloquently dream of living in space. Future heroes travel to the stars in city-sized spacecraft. Vast colonies of eager humans scratch out new lives on new worlds. However, Plan_B makes the admittedly rude observation that none of these dreams of the future actually ever tell you HOW to do it. None of such fictional stories explain how to build a functioning spacecraft or how to build a lunar habitat suitable for extended human exploration. None of these prior stories-based-on-science ever explain what it costs to create these spacecraft marvels. They never provide an engineering road-map describing the practical, needed steps to turn such space dreams into space reality. Perhaps this book, based on a real Program Plan, written by a Program Manager is the genesis of a new genus of space dreams. This is not a dream book, it is a guidebook to the touchable near future.

Plan B to the Moon presents a coherent executable plan, readable and believable story, that defines how to return humans to the surface and colonize the Moon. Considerable effort went into making this book relatable to non-experts (non-rocket-scientists). Do you have within you the profound, burning desire to explore? Were you inspired in your youth by the opening sequence of Star Trek episodes, "To Seek out New Worlds and New Civilizations?" If your answers are lukewarm yes or emphatic no, there may be little anyone can say to you to convince you of the profound need for and premise of space exploration. But consider these facts, we carry in our DNA the need for exploration. Every person alive today is the descendent of explorers and wanderers. Exploration is central to who we are as humans. Only our ancestors that left their old homes to find new homes survived. The people that stayed behind did not survive catastrophic change and their stay-behind DNA no longer has any influence over the future of our species. There are tens of thousands of fictional stories based on science that eloquently dream of living in space. Future heroes travel to the stars in city-sized spacecraft. Vast colonies of eager humans scratch out new lives on new worlds. However, Plan_B makes the admittedly rude observation that none of these dreams of the future actually ever tell you HOW to do it. None of such fictional stories explain how to build a functioning spacecraft or how to build a lunar habitat suitable for extended human exploration. None of these prior stories-based-on-science ever explain what it costs to create these spacecraft marvels. They never provide an engineering road-map describing the practical, needed steps to turn such space dreams into space reality. Perhaps this book, based on a real Program Plan, written by a Program Manager is the genesis of a new genus of space dreams. This is not a dream book, it is a guidebook to the touchable near future. Returning to the Moon–and striving for the Stars–is a love story about the human spirit's existential need and desire to stand on another world. Step by gritty step, we will eventually stand on that far shore because it will be the hardest thing there is to do.

Stephen Long is a professional Program Director/Manager and Senior Science Advisor that has worked across Aerospace, Defense and National Intelligence domains for the past 35 years. Stephen has served as a military officer, government executive and private industry executive. Stephen is a world-class expert for Motion Imagery and Metadata systems, receiving the 2004 Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) David Sarnoff Gold Medal for "outstanding contributions in the development of new techniques or equipment, which have contributed to the improvement of the engineering phases of television and Digital Cinema." Stephen has worked across Motion Intelligence, MASINT, GEOINT, and ISR/BMC2 disciplines. He has served as the Science and Technology Advisor for the SECDEF ISR Task Force, and as the MASINT Oversight Executive for the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. Within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Stephen was the Director of the Rapid Technology Advancement Office. Stephen is the Chairman Emeritus and served for many years as the Chairman of the Motion Imagery Standards Board at the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. A retired Air National Guard aviator, Stephen has 3000 hours in F-4Ds, F-Es and KC-135Es. Stephen also served for six years as a USAF Senior Intelligence Officer. Stephen has degrees in Communications, Engineering and Physics. Stephen has written over 200 science and engineering papers and Plan B to the Moon is Stephen's inaugural book length project. His next two books will be released in late 2019 and 2020.