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Space X and Tesla founder Elon Musk has a vision for colonising Mars, based on a big rocket, nuclear explosions and an infrastructure to transport millions of people there. Space fantasies flourished after Jules Vernes From Earth to the Moon was published in 1865, and again when RKO Pictures released a film adaptation, A Trip to the Moon, in 1902. However, a great deal of engineering would be required. To settle space, much cheaper launch vehicles are required, as well as a way to avoid serious damage to the atmosphere from the thousands, perhaps millions, of launches required. There are some who object to the idea of colonizing space as being "too expensive and a waste of time." Air pressure on Mars is very low; at 600 Pascals, its only about 0.6 percent that of Earth. Doing so could reverse some of the effects of climate change while colonizing space. If so, how? It is a major theme in science fiction, as well as a long-term goal of various national space programs. "As long as space colonization was merely the dream of science fiction fans . procon@eb.com, 2022 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Concepts proposed by scientists and in hard science fiction include: The most famous attempt to build an analogue to a self-sufficient colony is Biosphere 2, which attempted to duplicate Earth's biosphere. The Expanse does a really good job with that. After the Apollo moon landings, some scientists and NASA officials envisioned. You might as well be exposed to the vacuum of space, resulting in a severe form of the bendsincluding ruptured lungs, dangerously swollen skin and body tissue, and ultimately death. Space colonization would allow humans to spread among many planets and moons. The Alliance to Rescue Civilization plans to establish backups of human civilization on the Moon and other locations away from Earth. Robots are hard and nobody gets upset when they die. [34], Bioethicist George Dvorsky summarized the hostile nature of Mars: The Red Planet is a cold, dead place, with an atmosphere about 100 times thinner than Earths. To access extended pro and con arguments, sources, and discussion questions about whether humans should colonize space, go to ProCon.org. The fact that we have destroyed our home planet is prima facie evidence of this assertion. The solar energy available (in watts per square meter) at distance d from the Sun can be calculated by the formula E = 1366/d2, where d is measured in astronomical units. To travel to other planets, to mine the asteroids, creating an artificial biosphere, constructing a city on Mars' barren surface, exploring the life on the Moon, living in the darker skies, and observing stars in outer space. Now, today the technology is such that this is barely conceivable. NSS Mission: "to promote social, economic, technological, and political change in order to expand civilization beyond Earth, to settle space and to use the resulting resources to build a hopeful and prosperous future for humanity." NSS Rationale - Why Our Mission is Important: Survival, Growth, Prosperity, and Curiosity The long-term survival of the human race is at risk as long as it is confined to a single planet. First, space colonization means that the total future number of humans who will exist and whose lives will be worth living could be orders of magnitude greater than today (Baum et al., 2019, Beckstead, 2013, Bostrom, 2003). Promote Science Education - The Apollo missions inspired a whole generation of kids who wanted to grow up to be astronauts, rocket scientists, and engineers. Astronauts who have spent just a year in space have demonstrated irreversible health problems. Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking both suggested the need for a "hedge" population of humans on Mars to allow human civilization to reboot itself in the event of a catastrophe on Earth - an. We may have people living on the moons of Jupiter and other planets. Nuclear submarines use mechanical life support systems to support humans for months without surfacing, and this same basic technology could presumably be employed for space use. 28, 2008, Rahul Rao, India's Human Spaceflight Plans Coming Together Despite Delays, space.com, June 17, 2021, Daniel Oberhaus, The US Hitches Its Final Ride to Space From Russiafor Now, wired.com, Apr. Far from messing up environments that exist now, we would be creating them, with extraordinary attention to environmental sustainability. [23], Space Ecologist Joe Mascaro, PhD, summarized, To save the Earth, we have to go to Mars. Mascaro argues that expanding technology to go to Mars will help solve problems on Earth: The challenge of colonising Mars shares remarkable DNA with the challenges we face here on Earth. That all being said, assume most 'wild places' as having strong 'right to exist as is' - which could be some or most of Earth, when other demands are lessened, in a due process, ideally. 10, 2017, NASA Mars Exploration Program, Mars Terraforming Not Possible Using Present-Day Technology, mars.nasa.gov, July 30, 2018, April Glaser, Elon Musk Will Need One Million Mars Colonists to Get the Ticket Price down to $200,000, vox.com, Sep. 27, 2016, Dave Mosher, "NASA Says It Needs a $1.6 Billion 'Down Payment' from Congress to Send Astronauts Back to the Moon within 5 years," businessinsider.com, May 14, 2019, Sarah Fecht, Stephen Hawking Says We Have 100 Years to Colonize a New Planet-- Or Die. They argue that space travel is a waste of resources that would be better spent solving problems here on Earth, and that space colonization is a repetition of the colonization of the New World. https://www.britannica.com/story/pro-and-con-space-colonization. Remain a Global Leader in Space, pewresearch.org, June 6, 2018, Brian Patrick Green, Self-Preservation Should Be Humankinds First Ethical Priority and Therefore Rapid Space Settlement Is Necessary, sciencedirect.com, June 2019, Gonzalo Munevar, An Obligation to Colonize Outer Space, sciencedirect.com, June 2019, Kelly C. Smith and Keith Abney, The Great Colonization Debate, researchgate.net, Apr. CLEMSON, S.C. Space might be the final frontier, but as China announces plans to build a moon base, NASA begins working on manned missions to Mars and spaceships continue to probe deep space, one group of scholars is asking: are human colonies in space ethical? If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the other side of the issue now helps you better argue your position. They would be literal "cities" in space, where people would live and work and raise families. Harvard Univ., $29.95 By 20th century expectations, we are way behind schedule on colonizing the solar system. more like the earth this celestial body is; it Launched by President Trump in 2017, NASAs ongoing Artemis program intends to return humans to the Moon by 2024, landing the first woman on the lunar surface. The paltry amount of air that does exist on Mars is primarily composed of noxious carbon dioxide, which does little to protect the surface from the Suns harmful rays. Other means of communication that do not require live interaction, such as e-mail and voice mail systems, would pose no problem. The average temperature on Mars is -81 degrees Fahrenheit (-63 degrees Celsius), with temperatures dropping as low as -195 degrees F (-126 degrees C). [28], Meanwhile, lunar dust is made of shards of silica and cuts like glass. SpaceX is a commercial space travel business owned by Elon Musk that has ignited commercial space travel enthusiasm and the idea of space tourism. Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos Blue Origin have generated similar excitement. Generation ship: A hypothetical starship that would travel much slower than light between stars, with the crew going through multiple generations before the journey is complete. For example, the star Tau Ceti, about eleven light years away, has an abundance of cometary and asteroidal material in orbit around it. In the meantime, we shall prepare, for the brave sky-travellers, maps of the celestial bodies. [1], In popular culture, space travel dates back to at least the mid-1600s when Cyrano de Bergerac first wrote of traveling to space in a rocket. Is space colonization necessary? Should humans colonize space? In space settlements, a relatively small, closed ecological system must recycle or import all the nutrients without "crashing.". Pro 1 Humans have a right and a moral duty to save our species from suffering and extinction. value attempts to balance the rate of gain in genetic variation due to mutation with the rate of loss due to genetic drift. As I mentioned in the introduction, Musk and SpaceX hope to create the first city-like colony on Mars by . The Russian schoolmaster and physicist Konstantin Tsiolkowsky foresaw elements of the space community in his book, Beyond Planet Earth, written about 1900. Can Alternative Energy Effectively Replace Fossil Fuels? Can Alternative Energy Effectively Replace Fossil Fuels? Space colonization is tremendously important for the future of humankind in two ways. New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article Remote research stations in inhospitable climates, such as the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station or Devon Island Mars Arctic Research Station, can also provide some practice for off-world outpost construction and operation. Compared to the other requirements, communication systems are relatively easy to set up for Earth orbits and settlements on the Moon. After the Russians put the first person, Yuri Gagarin, in space on Apr. And even the worst catastrophes are unlikely to leave this world as hostile to humanity as a planet with no life, no atmosphere,. Ensure sufficient supply of valuable materials that may soon be in short supplymaterials such as. But once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe. Colonization of asteroids would require space habitats. [T]he first argument against human travel . Thus, the main living areas can be kept at 1g, whereas the Moon has 1/6g and Mars 1/3g. Other technologiessuch as tether propulsion, Variable specific impulse magnetoplasma rocket (VASIMR), ion drives, solar thermal rockets, solar sails, and nuclear thermal propulsioncan all potentially help solve the problems of high transport costs once in space. Due to its proximity and relative familiarity, Earth's Moon is frequently discussed as a target for colonization. {\displaystyle N_{e}=50} It appears to be some interpretation of Christian dominion, or dominionist, theology that drives colonization advocates to declare that humans are destined to fill the universe, that humans "must" colonize Mars, that outer space resources are there for the taking.The ideology of space exploration is in need of rejuvenation. "Space Colonization Top 3 Pros and Cons." Should Humans Colonize Space? ], ProCon.org, "Space Colonization Top 3 Pros and Cons,", ProCon.org, "Space Colonization Top 3 Pros and Cons. Transportation of large quantities of materials from the Moon, Phobos, Deimos, and Near Earth asteroids to orbital settlement construction sites would probably be necessary. The thin atmosphere also means that heat cannot be retained at the surface. Many space agencies build testbeds for advanced life support systems, but these are designed for long duration human spaceflight, not permanent colonization. Is the Internet Making Us Stupid? Technological advancement into space can exist alongside conservation efforts on Earth. Transportation to orbit is often the limiting factor in space endeavors. However, its atmosphere is very thin, averaging 800 Pa, or about 0.8 percent of Earth's sea-level atmospheric pressure. Why or why not? It increases our knowledge. The idea of terraforming Mars - aka "Earth's Twin" - is a fascinating idea. The argument of cost: Many people greatly overestimate how much money is spent on space, and underestimate how much money is spent on defense or health care. Colonizing space is really important. The Moon has nights of two Earth weeks in duration and Mars has night, dust, and is farther from the Sun, reducing solar energy available by a factor of about 1/2-1/3, and possibly making nuclear power more attractive on these bodies. Explain your answer(s). So here I will count down "Houston style," my top 5 reasons why space exploration is important for the world. 8, 2020, Mark Memmott, Last Space Shuttle Lands, Ending 30-Year Era, npr.org, July 21, 2011, Laurel Wamsley, Bezos vs. Branson: The Billionaire Space Race Lifts Off, npr.org, July 11, 2021, NASA, NASAs SpaceX Crew-2 Astronauts Headed to International Space Station, nasa.gov, Apr. Another seminal book on the subject was the book, The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space, by Gerard K. O'Neill[11] in 1977, which was followed the same year by Colonies in Space by T. A. Astronauts spend an average of 182 days (about six months) aboard the ISS. Recycling of the carbon dioxide has been approached in the literature using the Sabatier process or the Bosch reaction. Is Artificial Intelligence Good for Society? Living on Mars will require mastery of recycling matter and water, producing food from barren and arid soil, generating carbon-free nuclear and solar energy, building advanced batteries and materials, and extracting and storing carbon from atmospheric carbon dioxide and doing it all at once. Proponents say artificial intelligence can improve workplace safety. NASAs ongoing Artemis program, launched by President Trump in 2017, intends to return humans to the Moon, landing the first woman on the lunar surface, by 2024. Astronauts spend an average of 182 days (about six months) aboard the ISS. What was science fiction began to look more like possibility. And he's probably right. It also assumes that space colonization is not itself a valuable goal. Famed British cosmologist Stephen Hawking sees only one way for humanity to survive the next millennium: colonize space. Another near-Earth possibility are the five Earth-Moon Lagrange points. 9 with former NASA astronaut, current Axiom Space employee, and mission commander, Michael Lopez-Alegra, Israeli businessman Eytan Stibbe, Canadian investor Mark Pathy, and American real estate magnate Larry Connor. Above Earth's natural protection, radiation exposure increases cancer risk, damages the central nervous system, can alter cognitive function, reduce motor function and prompt behavioral changes. However, if such a goal were to imply human self-replication, it would treat people as machines, requiring genetic experimentation on humans and expecting that human nature and the human desire for a spouse and family life can be by-passed in some cavalier fashion. Thus, the pressure vessels necessary to support life would be very similar to deep-space structures. It acknowledges the harm that Canada's colonial history has had on Indigenous nations, peoples, and culture. To know the unknown and explore new wonders of the Universe. Marianne J. Dyson, Living on a Space Frontier. prescription corresponds to an inbreeding rate of 1 percent per generation, approximately half the maximum rate tolerated by domestic animal breeders.