How Post-Earth Humans Will Survive In Space [Infographic]
The Spaceman Popular Science archives This diagram from 1963 imagines how future humans will adapt to hostile environments. "The wheel, the ski, the kayak, the sports car-pure geometry in motion," wrote aviation researchers Toby Freedman and Gerald S. Lindner in the November 1963 issue of Popular Science. "No doubt the engineers of these perfect and symmetrical structures beat their heads against the wall when told they had to squeeze in a passenger." With manned space flight imminent and a nuclear holocaust looming, the two physicians argued that evolution had had its way with humanity long enough; it was time to tackle human frailty with science. "Instead of modifying the ship, modify the man," Freedman and Lindner declared. Citing a recent successful kidney transplant in England, they suggested that soon humans will opt for prosthetic devices over natural hands and will "exchange their failing hearts and livers the way we change tires...