In his latest novel, Existence, David Brin takes on the Fermi Paradox – the apparent contradiction between high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilization and humanity’s lack of contact with, or evidence for, such civilizations. Set in the 2050s, Existence is at once familiar and oh so alien even before the initial contact with an alien artifact occurs.

My earliest and most vivid memories of elementary school were when we would gather together in a single classroom and watch a rocket take off with a man aboard. I grew up with the Mercury Seven Astronauts, the Gemini program and eventually the Apollo Missions that culminated on July 20 1969 when Neil Armstrong stepped off a ladder onto the moon.

I have a need for space.

Newt Gingrich emphasized his latest policy plank: “We will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be American,” Gingrich said.

At some point everyone of a certain age must have dreamed of being an astronaut, of flying into space, boldly going where man had gone before. I grew up with a dad who was a human factor specialist for NASA, basically an on-earth test astronaut. Richard Garriott–one of our guests tonight and the subject of Man on a Mission–is the son of an astronaut, Owen Garriott who rode aboard Skylab 2; he wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps. Fate, and bad eyesight, prevented him from becoming an official astronaut so he set off to make his dreams come true (and along the way, he became the father of a whole generation of computer gamers.)

It’s a great pleasure to host this Book Salon for My Dream of Stars: From Daughter of Iran to Space Pioneer, by Anousheh Ansari with Homer Hickam. It’s an engaging read, from a unique perspective, and an enlightening story of real determination.

I wasn’t familiar with Anousheh Ansari’s story before reading this book, but I did know the name “Ansari,” from the Ansari X Prize. That was a contest that offered ten million dollars to the first private enterprise to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space. The prize money was collected in 2004, in an event that captured the attention of space enthusiasts throughout the globe. Most of the prize money was put up by Anousheh Ansari and her brother-in-law Amir Ansari, who are true space enthusiasts themselves.