onnruiIffTr" n nn ••••!•••• ANNIVERSARY OF BE& >35± <£u 353$ fT5S& OS uS ^ffi ra\ra SPACEFLIGHT onnrui EDITOR IN CHIEF & DESIGN DIRECTOR: BOB GUCCIONE PRESIDENT; KATHY KEETON EDITOR: GURNEY WILLIAMS III EXECUT VE ED.IOR -ATRICE ADCROFT EDITOR AT LARGE: DICK TERESI 3 OR A, - ilCS D RECTOR. -RANK DEVINO MANAGING' EDITOR: PAUL HILTS ART DIRECTOR: AMY SEISSLER CONTENTS PAGE OMNIBUS Contributors 10 COMMUNICATIONS Correspondence 12 EARTH Environment Owen Davies 18 LIFE Anthropology Jim Naughton 24 MIND Behavior Judith Hooper 26 BODY Health James Kittield 28 MUSIC The Arts Matthew Kiell 32 CONTINUUM Data Bank 37 SPACEFLIGHT; THE QUEST CONTINUES FIRST WORD Opinion Alan B. Shepard, Jr. 6 FORUM Dialogue T4 SPACE Comment Freeman Dyson 22 STARS Astronomy Ron Schultz 34 MISSIONARY POWER Article Richard Wolkomir 46 GEOSTAR Article Gerard K. O'Neill 62 HEROES IN SPACE Poster 69 MOONS OF URANUS Pictorial Ron Schultz 92 DANIEL J. BOORSTIN Interview Anthony Liversidge 102 ALIEN LANDING Contest Results Owen Davies 114 THE BOOK OF BLOOD Fiction Olive Barker 54 AGAINST BABYLON Fiction Robert Silverberg 86 ANTIMATTER. UFOs. etc. 109 EXPLORATIONS Commemoration Jane Goodall 132 BAHAMA BANK Phenomena 140 GAMES Diversions Scot Morris 148 Joseph E Conroy Our cover commemorates NASA's 25 years oi spaceflight. Eugene Ceman photographed Harrison "Jack" Schrnitt during the December 1972 flight o! Apollo 17. The crewmen spent a record 76 hours on the lunar surface. The photo is courtesy of NASA/Visions. 4 OMNI . " This month marks the twenty- fifth artovor- shfiken'NAS.Aina way-that not even the . sary Of : budget cuts of the Seventies could, .it ' ' America's first- manned space .'mission; For hardlyseems thai, any good could come of anyone who such a tragedy particularly with both . in those noi-so-ciistant days, it is astonishing Congress and the administration scurrying how jar we have come m so short a time. to pin the blame on NASA executives. in many respects we have made enormous But- there is something more basic at work.- progress. Other events, however, hays t now seems that toe Challenger none accident has revived the broad interest that ' ; of us could have foreseen. the. space- program has lacked '.for more : Thai first 15-minute 'light novo; aver' than a decade. This is good news because reached orbit: I had only a -minute or so to decisions must now bo made'that will-set enjoy the View, in retrospect. :whaf still the course of space development for the seems moo asicient rest q'i this cento: y. Two have beerrmadeC Kennedys response- to- thai srnai? success already NASA has announced ;hat ii One month prior !o the launch, his scientific ten. advisers had stili doubted tnai men couid '.i.^e shuttle is took in service. And the endure a trip into space. Gus G.nssom,' President has reaffirmed his commitment.'. Glenn, '.; John and i had to repeat centrifuge' to build a permanent space storionto-y. iests done many times before ;ust to prove flyinfhe early Nineties. This must be ''. tii at 'welcome to all---' ; . .... !:,. r . First.- however, we musi'decidewhaf lo .' ' speaking before a lull Congress, promised do about the 'shut tie. Many planners would 1 ' mi ! r . ::ii ..! ;- i simply change its solid rocket boosters decade. Even at NASA they were nervous m the nope of preventing another mishap! about that schedule. Others have suggested that we build a : None of us could have guessed what a Wt,-.| r :: ' ,: UUDRD powerful fool the space shuttle woulc shuttle the shuttle's design was frozen be only ?5 years late; The Mercury astro- scnto 15 years ape they point out. why not .: By 'Alan B. Shepard. Jr. '..'! 1. 'f '-a; 1 quite Spai in a oar i take advantage of todays tec.nnolo.gy:? the jokers claimed, but even 'he AdoIIo This Is an attractive argument for someday '.'•The Challenger capsule remained cramped -and onmlive. we -'to! need : accident has revived the No d ietr-y technicians to orbi taiGi pa enge-: have Hy -' to I -it I II hoped passengers who could d I interest that the ;'.' perform useful wo no; related to the carry 500.000 pound =.: rR g maiem; space program has tacked intotorbit in a single lean If we adopt the-: -to The i: -re-esi in rheso early missions was Strategic Deiense Initiative, we wlli need-all . for more than a . intense A-te< !.. , i each Mercury Might, we Hie for; the. on .. : . decade. Disaster won - ! ,i .. tic!' .!. \ce< ;. an i We cannot, however, gliord to wait. • • "'>"'. Ihe.attention endless interviews. tonally we signed I tlied for toe shuttles! '.-"' an exclusive --e not iou i ,'.". ive m old have b; :n har I- that skill could notS \ lor cur stones not to- the m-oney or -because pressed to meet the neeo tor launch service; ; publisher Henry Luce much 'toss today's three. Challenger must ., . : .. r cai 1'ii'A" i . :: v be rep icec as ; .en as toe cause of Its exc accident is found and cured: two new . = -iii-il- i: I . f; i n. idi (he shuttles would be far better. hoc ma economic Ailhdugn the shuttle is the DC -3 or the -..; i.. ,vii suppob.we needec. SpaCi : , .; p'i iigui ag ii'MI .. Contrast renziod the otohusiasm of 25 building even one mere shuttle, since : 1 years with of ::.' |i r.i ', i ago the apathy leoeni years . I:. ' : ':' "I ho hours of TV news thai once carried every tom. Gut most :koiy they wili fail. The- iaunoi towers and moon rovers into our credit goes to Challenger's last crew Ron ' iiving : looms dwindled sieaai y. Shuile fights he Challenger accident has awakened the nave rated onfy a fev, > American people, in polls fooay fully 85 tope on toe evening news. When Chai'ungiif percent support NASAs work. A majority"-.', rso.y a TV says the agency deserves '-ore tonoing slat loan If receives. Congress and the. admto, operas and game shows— until the.shui.ito istra-ion.m.ust hear them. exploded .Ironically, m midair disaster it is tragic thai i took too ceafhs of seven won i he' at ton ton that skill and reliability dedicated poop:e to rally us. And their .could not. sacrifice could sriH be wast em Unless this, NASAs budget has mi. roreo the public's revn : . interest. In i : ,;.'',< :: . space As tone as the nation TOW ..!!, >l : idet i It.v beli i-.. ', iii'i ;., i. , .ii i! :! Russians, NASA received a-.mos! ail the I d the' lasting money it needed. As soon as wo (Cached support we have needed for so tone, the moon, the race was over. The public they.wii.i have not died ;n va ; n.OO found oilier interests, and Congress found other uses tor government funds. The space program slowed down and has never in fact; tolly recovered; ' The recent Challenge: accident has CONTRIBUTOR! annruii ardent supporter.: a'id a, member of the thinking about man's ceaseless quest for National Commission on Space is Gerard new worlds to conquer. Boorstin is the eminent Librarian of Congress and author ^^a menial to man as his ability to K. O'Neill, professor emeritus of physics at comprehend his own mortality. These two Princeton University. In "Geostar" (page 62) of The Discoverers, a book that celebrates seem inextricably bound; indeed, one he reports on detailed plans for the ultimate "the imaginative thrusts of the great the poly- is often purchased at the price of the other. satellite communications network. discoverers" throughout ages. A such diverse In this issue we celebrate America's 25 O'Neill explains how transceivers— math, Boorstin has pursued inexpensive will receive interests as bird-watching (with James years of manned spaceflight and pay . radios— send and homage to the spirit of exploration, which digital messages. Hikers will be able to Watson, of DNA fame), studying biochem- has recently been put to the test by the check in with their offices; private planes istry, teaching at the Sorbonne, and explor- tragic loss of the seven crew members of will be guided to emergency landings. ing the mysteries of the pyramids. the space shuttle Challenger. To honor Chair of the Geostar Corporation, O'Neill Horror stories allow us to explore the these heroes, Omni has designed a special has recently written the book The Technol- shadowy part of our own natures—and commemorative poster (page 69), We've ogy Edge: Opportunities lor America in from a relatively sale place: a comfortable included a space timeline that spans half a World Competition. couch or that worn but cozy wingback century: This trajectory nol only marks O'Neill's telescopic vision can be matched chair. According to Olive Barker, the our past but also presages events sure to only by that of our readers, whose powers powerful new writer whose story "The Book take place in the next 25 years, such as the of prophecy were enlisted for the "Great of Blood" starts on page 54: "If you hold really. day pilgrims will arrive on the first moon- UFO Contest." We received an overwhelm- the nasty things at bay, you can't see, based colony. ing response (some 4,000 entries) to our And horror fiction is all about seeing clearly. Among those first colonists will certainly question, "posed in the October 1985 issue: A lot of my characters live dull lives. They in be members ot the more than 50 pro- II aliens decided to visit us, where would live in a dimensionless reality, trapped a space organizations. In "Missionary Power" they be most likely to land? One entrant singularity of vision.