Earlier this week, my essay "På sporet av en tapt fremtid" (roughly translating to "In search of a lost future"), which deals with longtermism, was published online in Salongen - nettidsskrift for filosofi og idéhistorie.
Reference:
— Tønnessen, Morten 2026. På sporet av en tapt fremtid. Essay. Salongen – nettidsskrift for filosofi og idéhistorie (Salongen.no). Published March 9th 2026. URL: https://www.salongen.no/essay/pa-sporet-av-en-tapt-fremtid/262022
Yesterday I took part in the first Wounderful Tour event this Spring, ahead of the Wonderful world festival in May, arranged by Kåkå Kverulantkatedralen. The event, at Vitenfabrikken in Sandnes, was titled «Drømmen om verdensrommet» (The dream about space) and featured a panel consisting of me and Brage W. Johansen and chaired by Runa Norheim. Ahead of the panel, the movie "Capcom Go – Apollohistorien" was shown in the planetarium. Some 25 people attended the event.
The book Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement was published earlier this month. I have co-authored three chapters. The official copyright year is 2024. These are my first publications in astrobiology proper.
References:
— Elias Chatzitheodoridis, Philippe Clerc, Akos Kereszturi, Nigel Mason, Erik Persson, Carmen Possnig, Lucie Poulet, Mikko Puumala, Oskari Sivula, John Robert Brucato, Laetitia Cesari, Gisela Detrell, Ondřej Ditrych, Teresa Fornaro, Barbara Gonçalves, Christoph Gross, Maria Hedlund, Mahulena Hofmann, Alexandros Krassakis, Natuschka M. Lee, Kirsi Lehto, Andrea Meneghin, Lena Noack, Patrick Rückert, Nikola Schmidt, Stefan Selke, Mikko Tikkanen, Morten Tønnessen & Kirsten Tracht 2024. Towards Permanent Settlements on Mars (from 1000 to 100,000 People). Pp. 253–339 (chapter 8) in Cyprien Verseux, Muriel Gargaud, Kirsi Lehto & Michel Viso (eds.), Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement (Space and Society). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66881-4_8
— Francois Forget, Perrine Barthomeuf, Oskari Sivula, Caroline Freissinet, Natuschka M. Lee, Nicolas Mangold, Erik Persson & Morten Tønnessen 2024. Mars as a Planet B? Pp. 341–366 (chapter 9) in Cyprien Verseux, Muriel Gargaud, Kirsi Lehto & Michel Viso (eds.), Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement (Space and Society). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66881-4_9
— Mikko Puumala, Oskari Sivula, Jacques Arnould, Klara-Anna Capova, Ondřej Ditrych, David Dunér, Natuschka M. Lee, Tony Milligan, Erik Persson, Nikola Schmidt & Morten Tønnessen 2024. Mars Historical and Ethical Context: Past, Present, and Imagination. Pp. 85–98 (chapter 4) in Cyprien Verseux, Muriel Gargaud, Kirsi Lehto & Michel Viso (eds.), Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement (Space and Society). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66881-4_4
I was prompted to update my Google scholar profile, and have revised keywords there plus gone through a number of publications that were not listed on my profile, adding 25 of my texts. 161 texts are now listed on my profile (+25 since December 31st).
My keywords or "areas of interest" now read: biosemiotics, ethics, phenomenology, economics and welfare, astrobiology
Largely due to the updated list of publications, my citation count has increased. My research has now attracted 1.303 citations (+52 since December 31st), including 96 from 2016 (+4), 92 from 2020 (+2), 155 from 2021 (+6), 192 from 2022 (+3), 179 from 2023 (+8) and 187 (+8) from 2024. 811 of the citations are since 2020. My h-index remains 20 and my i10-index 38.
As for my Google Scholar history, on Google´s count I passed 1.000 citations in December 2023, 1.100 citations in April 2024 and 1.200 citations in September 2024. For a detailed history further back (100-1000 citations, achieved 2016-2023), see my 2023 blog post "Google Scholar: 1000 citations; updated Google Scholar history".
Springer Nature has now launched a website for the forthcoming book Mars and the Earthlings: A Realistic View on Mars Exploration and Settlement, which I am one of ca. 60 authors of. The book will appear in the book series Space and Society. Planned publication date is said to be December 11th. The book will be included in Springer´s e-book package for Physics and astronomy.
Book description:
In an era of public Mars fascination, this book offers an objective presentation of the challenges of crewed Mars missions and discusses scenarios of Mars settlements under scientific, technical, social, economic , ethical and political aspects. With the aim to make the reader comprehend what is plausible and what is at stake, the book tries to clarify misconceptions and half-truths spreading rapidly in the public. The authors argue that approximations and misinformation should be countered for two main reasons. First, to avoid missing out on the benefits that Mars exploration may bring, including major scientific discoveries and an inspiring, federative human endeavor. Second, to remediate dangerous delusions – such as the idea that humanity could be transferred there should the Earth become inhabitable in the near term. In preparation for this book a group of European, world-renowned scientists from fields as diverse as astronomy, planetology, geology, biology, philosophy, or economics, as well as astronauts and science-fiction writers, was gathered to discuss Mars missions ranging from near-term robotic missions, all the way to large-scale settlements and even the feasibility of terraforming. For each, they draw arguments from their domains of expertise to discuss what is feasible and what is desirable. The result provides researchers with an objective review of the field, policy makers with a reference to make informed decisions, and the general public with a tool to form educated opinions.
The manuscript for the book Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement is approaching completion and will be submitted to Springer this week. I will be credited as a co-author of three chapters, cf. below. Altogether 61 experts have co-authored the book.
Updated preliminary reference:
— forthcoming, 2024. Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement (eds. C. Verseux, M. Gargaud, K. Lehto & M. Viso). Co-author of chapter 4 (“Mars Historical and ethical context: Past, present and imagination”), chapter 8 (“Toward permanent settlements on Mars (from 1000 to 100 000 people)”), chapter 9 (“Mars as a planet B?”). Springer. Planned publication 2024.
Today I have attended a work meeting and done some work on my contributions to the forthcoming book Mars and the Earthlings, with some 300 words added to the text, mostly on the likely Martian diet and brining along of animals to Mars. So far this Spring I have had 43 writing days, including what ended up as half a writing day today.
Yesterday was the deadline for submitting revised text to the editors of the book Mars and the Earthlings. I participate in Work group 9, which addresses political, societal and ethical aspects of going to and potentially settling on Mars. Now after recent work and editing, I am credited with having contributed to the following sections made by Workgroup 9, along with other scholars:
"Political motivations and factors for Mars race"
"Civil liberties vs. security: How much do we have to sacrifice individual freedom to survive on Mars?"
"Demography"
"Safety and governance"
"Ethical considerations of non-humans on Mars"
"Novel ecosystems"
Today I have had half a writing day with work done on Mars and the Earthlings and the article on Arne Næss and his philosophy of economics which I co-write with Jan Karlstrøm and Thomas Hylland Eriksen.
Today I have had half a writing day, bringing this Autumn´s total so far up to 26,5 days, with some 500 words added to my contributions to the book Mars and the Earthlings, and my latest contributions submitted.
Today I have had half a writing day with work done on my contributions to the book Mars and the Earthlings, and some 100 words written. The number of writing days this Autumn is up to 25.
Today I have had what ended up as a full writing day, with some 1.100 words added to Mars and the Earthlings. Also, my article "Wasted GDP in the USA" was published (see separate post), so I had some dissemination to do. This is the most productive writing day so far this Autumn in terms of number of words written. Number of writing days this Autumn is up to 19,5.
Over the 2 last days I had a writing day, the 52nd this Spring, with some 500 words written of my contribution to the book Mars and the Earthlings, and some work done on the two articles I am co-writing with Jan Karlstrøm, our GDP review (the two of us) and our article about Arne Næss and his view of economics (the two of us plus Thomas Hylland Eriksen).
Today I have had half a writing day, with my article "The study of past Umwelten" proof-read (pre-print version), and some info gone through regarding my contribution to the book Mars and the Earthlings.
I have agreed to contribute with parts of a co-written chapter for the book Mars and the Earthlings, which is intended for the Springer book series Space and Society. I am tasked with covering experiential and behavioral challenges with settling on Mars.
