The benefits of technology require large amounts of resources to develop and spread. But modern living is already taxing Earth's resources and the environment. To continue to improve human life on Earth, we may have to look to space for the resources we need. Learn how inventor Joel Sercel plans to kick-start this process, harnessing light from the sun to mine asteroids for fuel and other resources.

The books in the Out of This World series feature projects that have won grants from the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program (NIAC). The program provides funding to teams working to develop bold new advances in space technology.