David R. Criswell (July 17, 1941 – September 10, 2019) was the Director of the Institute for Space Systems Operations at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

. ISSO is the operational agent for the Houston Partnership for Space Exploration. Criswell received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1963 (graduating cum laude) and a Master of Science degree in Physics in 1964 from the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

, in Denton, Texas. In 1968, he received a Doctorate degree in

space physics Space physics, also known as solar-terrestrial physics or space-plasma physics, is the study of plasmas as they occur naturally in the Earth's upper atmosphere (aeronomy) and within the Solar System. As such, it encompasses a far-ranging number of ...

and

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from

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

in Houston, Texas. He was an active member of the Power from Space Committee of the

International Astronautical Federation The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) is an international space advocacy organization based in Paris, and founded in 1951 as a non-governmental organization to establish a dialogue between scientists around the world and to lay t ...

and participated in IAF and

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Summits dealing with supplying energy to Earth. He also served on the

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of the

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, a

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space advocacy Space advocacy is supporting or advocating for a human use of outer space. Purposes advocated can reach from space exploration, or commercial use of space to even space settlement. There are many different individuals and organizations dedicat ...

organization in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Views on exploiting lunar resources

For over thirty years, Criswell was an advocate for obtaining

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...

from the

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

. He proposed the large-scale construction of solar collectors on the lunar surface, using local lunar materials. The solar energy would be converted to microwave energy and transmitted to Earth. Criswell envisioned that this energy source would spur an unprecedented amount of global economic growth (Gross World Product increasing by a factor of 10), while having a positive environmental impact (fossil fuel-burning power plants would be decommissioned). He pointed out that lunar-solar energy would not generate nuclear waste, and is not a finite resource (in the sense that

fossil fuels A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ...

are a finite resource). He estimated that a 1 GigaWatt demo of the lunar-solar power generation system could be built over a 10-year period for approximately $60 billion in 1990 dollars. (For comparison, the 1.65 GW

Benban Solar Park Benban Solar Park is a photovoltaic power station with a total capacity of 1650 MW nominal power which corresponds to an annual production of approximately 3.8 TWh. It is located in Benban (Aswan Governorate) in the western desert, approxim ...

in Egypt cost $4 billion in 2019; however, Benban's delivered power is 430 MW compared to the 1 GW demo which would deliver a full 1 GW.) In short, Criswell believed that lunar-solar energy is the only viable option for generating the massive amounts of electrical power that would be needed to raise the standard of living in third-world nations to that of first-world nations. He once said, from the University of Houston, that "We are already well beyond what the biosphere can provide. We have to go outside to get something else."

References

External links

Testimony of Dr. David R. Criswell: Senate Hearing on "Lunar Exploration"

Lunar Solar Power (LSP) System: Practical Means to Power Sustainable Prosperity

Audio Interview with David Criswell in 2005

C-SPAN Video 1997 - Starts at 02h:35mn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Criswell, David American astronomers Planetary scientists Space advocates University of North Texas alumni Rice University alumni University of Houston faculty 1941 births 2019 deaths

Views on exploiting lunar resources

See also

Further reading

References

External links