繼紐約時報暢銷書《2100科技大未來》後
　　弦論奠基人、當代物理學大師 加來道雄
　　預言改造火星、星際旅行、長生不朽與後地球時代的終極命運

　　21世紀地球的下一步是什麼？當鋼鐵人馬斯克揭露其醞釀已久的太空旅遊計畫、波音公司總裁米倫伯格表示太空發射系統已臻成熟，全球產業鏈移轉、科技股應聲上漲，新一波太空科技競賽宣告正式開打，年輕世代可望於有生之年在火星上踏出重要的一步。
 
　　但民眾更好奇的是，投入數兆美元的科學研究，究竟要將人類帶往何方？
　　未來的人類是否可能移民太空站、火星，最後離開太陽系？尋找比地球更宜家家居的行星？
 
　　先進國家的科學家早在列舉移居星球的名單，任一星球只要水源日照充足、溫度適中，而且重力和地球相仿，移居外星將不再是夢想。同時太空產業也提出自己的選項：人類不只能移居外星，也能發展月球生物圈、星際旅遊以及小行星挖礦。甚至過往危險又耗費巨大的火箭，如今都有解決方案：移民者可搭乘太空電梯，從地面前往停在大氣層外的大型星艦，再也不用承受火箭發射之苦；又或者搭乘「彗星高速公路」，不耗費過多太空梭能量，就此永遠離開太陽系。
 
　　科學即國力，加來道雄深受美蘇太空競賽、科幻小說大師艾西莫夫，以及經典科幻影集《星艦迷航》啟蒙，投身物理研究，並奠基了實踐當代科技的超弦論。他也指出，核子火箭、反物質引擎、光帆、奈米探測太空船和新型星艦動力等先進構想已被提出；同時當代科技如3D列印、量子電腦、人工智慧、機器人、生物科技、基因治療等技術也日益進步。影視作品中的移民外星將不再是夢想，而是下個世紀的趨勢，新一代的太空研究熱潮將捲土重來。

　　本文取自時報出版《離開太陽系：移民火星、超人類誕生到星際旅行，探索物理學家眼中的未來世界》
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The #1 bestselling author of The Future of the Mind traverses the frontiers of astrophysics, artificial intelligence, and technology to offer a stunning vision of man's future in space, from settling Mars to traveling to distant galaxies.

We are entering a new Golden Age of space exploration. With irrepressible enthusiasm and a deep understanding of the cutting-edge research in space travel, World-renowned physicist and futurist Dr. Michio Kaku presents a compelling vision of how humanity may develop a sustainable civilization in outer space. He reveals the developments in robotics, nanotechnology, and biotechnology that may allow us to terraform and build habitable cities on Mars and beyond. He then journeys out of our solar system and discusses how new technologies such as nanoships, laser sails, and fusion rockets may actually make interstellar travel a possibility. We travel beyond our galaxy, and even beyond our universe, as Kaku investigates some of the hottest topics in science today, including warp drive, wormholes, hyperspace, parallel universes, and the multiverse. Ultimately, he shows us how humans may someday achieve a form of immortality and be able to leave our bodies entirely, laser porting to new havens in space.



MICHIO KAKU is a professor of physics at the City University of New York, cofounder of string field theory, and the author of several widely acclaimed science books, including Beyond Einstein, The Future of the Mind, Hyperspace, Physics of the Future, and Physics of the Impossible. He is the science correspondent for CBS This Morning and host of the radio programs Science Fantastic and Exploration.