Should humanity start to colonize space?
In my opinion it would be a significant step towards survival for humanity. Imagine humanity surviving even if the Earth suffers from a catastrophy, let's say a super-vulcano or something.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$12 Answers
We have people who live in Space for extended periods now. We are already developing strategies. All the Colonies of the Future on Mars and Jupiters Moons etc.. will trace their histories to our time and our ideas and hopes and dreams.. we are the Ancestors of the Colonists.
And don't forget, we are Already out here in Space, we are the FIRST SPACE COLONY, all the others will be modeled after our world.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$Think what it would take to "settle" the summit of Everest, and then multiply the cost and the effort by a million, or a billion.
The challenge is the same as with Everest - physics. Moving a hundred miles upwards just takes a heck of a lot more than moving a hundred miles along the surface of the Earth. A lot more energy, a lot more effort, and in the end a lot more money.
We may find cheaper ways to do it in the future, but it'll never be like driving to the next city, or even flying to the opposite side of the planet.
The reason we don't colonise space is the same reason not many people live on the summits of mountains. Hard to get up, hard to get back down, hard to make a living from up there.
It's been said that if the moon was covered in gold bricks, it still wouldn't be economically viable to go up there to collect it. It's just too darn expensive to get there and back.
Having said all that, in the future hopefully innovation will bring some of those costs down, and we - humanity - will be a lot richer and able to afford to experiment. When that happens, I'm all for trying to colonise space.
It might turn out to be a futile effort, like living on remote island disconnected from the rest of civilisation, or it might be the beginning of a new adventure and mass emigration. Someday it'll be worth taking the shot and finding out.
That day hasn't come yet though.
It's a pity, when I was a kid, I was looking forward to it. :)
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You have never heard about Space elevators which make entry into space a simple matter. A ribbon is tied to earth on one end and at the other to a geo-synchronous Transport Station... You ride the ribbon into space, and hop aboard a ship... The only problem being if the ribbon should collapse to earth,, what a HUGE mess and so Dangerous!!
I slightly disagree. Today People live on the mountains, and they make a living. Think about high rise buildings. I like to work in a highrise, but not live. But there millions people living in highrise residential buildings. So if there is necessity and it becomes a must, we will find an easier way and tough becomes simple.
Today's 6+ billion on earth will grow to much bigger number and we consume the resources exponentially as the population becomes more industrialized and civilized. We will eventually run out of space (on earth) and resources. In the mean time, we will find a cheaper, faster, efficient space travel methods and conquer other planets. and then to other extra solar systems, 'coz our SUN has a finite life time.
Space elevators don't change the physics. And frankly counting on an idea like that is like betting on nuclear fusion or artificial intelligence. It may happen or it may not.
Anyway the question was not "Will it be worthwhile someday?", the question was "Should we start?"
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Of course, then you run into the problem of water itself. You can't really make water, or transport enough of it from Earth to wherever we choose to colonize, and purified urine probably wouldn't appeal to most would-be colonists. So we would eventually have to move on to a different site that has a built-in water source. This will, of course, be farther from Earth and would only be advisable after we get experience by living on the moon.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
But yeah, you're definitely right, because some day, the sun will either burn out, or expand into the earth, so we need to start inching towards finding a new solar system! Though we have millions of years before that happens, never put off what you can do today, and today we can start colonizing the moon!
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$But our scientific community has to solve a lot of challenges. I hope, based on the exponential growth in technology over the past few decades, it might happen sooner (hope it happens during my life).
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
