In our current age, we are running out of resources on Earth, which means at some point it will become very difficult to sustain our growing population. The answer may lie within the realm of science fiction. Let's talk briefly about a couple of arguments in favor of space colonization (according to Wikipedia): The survival of human civilization and the biosphere in the event of a planetary-scale disaster (natural or man-made). It's in our blood. But we will have to bring everything to Mars ourselves. There’s no food, very little water, and no breathable atmosphere. Chelsea Gohd March 2nd 2017. Thatâs why cost is so important and why we want robots to build things, genetically engineered crops to thrive in that environment, and nanotechnology to create lightweight, super-strong building materials that are pre-fabricated to create dome cities. ABSTRACT. But now, Mars is not a life-friendly place. Additionally, if humanity were to enter a global nuclear warfare, we would risk possibly wiping out large parts of the human population, but if we had a space colony, we could restore human civilization, or even prevent this from happening altogether. Houston, we have a problem. There is an endless amount of potential for the growth of human civilization if we use extraterrestrial resources. NASA was horrified, yet in the Smithsonian Museum now, you can see a replica of the golf clubs he used, to prove that interstellar sports could become a real possibility. Weâve discovered about 60 genes that seem to influence the lifespan of human beings and we know that certain genes allow animals to live for centuries. We would also want humanity to be able to thrive for as long as possible, so it would make sense that we would try and expand to another planet when Earth is no longer feasible for us. “Instead of inviting human extinction on other planets, let’s try to keep humanity alive on the one we’ve already got.” But Simón’s fears are overblown. The dinosaurs, for example, didnât have a space program. Sending humans to Mars was ranked eighth (ahead only of returning to the Moon) with only 18% of those surveyed believing it should be a high priority. When Humans Begin Colonizing Other Planets, Who Should Be in ... questions concerning how humans might threaten life on other planets we colonize. Thatâs the law of Mother Nature. Or a deadly virus spread across the Earth? We would have to expand out into the cosmos if we want to survive long-term (millions of years). So, letâs be at least a two-planet species, as a backup plan.â. In certain segments of the space community, the idea of colonizing other planetary bodies has been popular for decades. As humans continue to degrade and destroy our planets resources, leading to predictions of total ecological collapse, some (such as the entrepreneur Elon Musk) now suggest that a human colony elsewhere may be our species best hope for survival. If you think that the idea of colonizing other planets is something out of a particularly far-fetched science fiction movie or book, Elon Musk, founder of private space travel company SpaceX, has a surprise for you. 1 Theology and Science 15(3), August 2017 Article Should humans colonize other planets? So, itâs a two-year journey where weightlessness, cosmic radiation, and micrometeorites will all be problems. We've already seen some of the intense effects of climate change, but if we don't change our ways soon, we will surely cause some irreparable damage to Earth. Read 2 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Besides, scientists have yet to reach firm conclusions regarding life on other planets and it is important to understand more of the universe before shipping humans to live on other planets. To be sure, humanity will eventually need to escape Earth to survive, since the sun will make the planet uninhabitable in about 1 billion years. Other reasons: Additional reasons for establishing space colonies would be: Further expansion without consequences: As a species, we would be able to grow without destroying resources on our own planet. Mars is also frozen, so weâre going to have to heat up the surface, which is called terraforming. If you take a look at evolution on Earth, 99.9 percent of all life forms have gone extinct. Travelling to distant stars will require new forms of transportation. • The idea of colonizing another planet likely appeals to a small fraction of humankind and suggests an inevitably elitist enterprise. Humans should not colonize space because we haven't been able to find solutions to the problems we experience right here on Earth. Could Mars save the human race from extinction? 321-332. – The Red & Black (PDF) Should Humans Colonize Other Planets? Should humans colonize other planets? Simon Worrall curates Book Talk. By developing alternative locations off Earth, the planet's species, including humans, could live on in the event of natural or man-made disasters on our own planet. If Humans Want To Colonize Other Planets, We Need To Perfect Space Cuisine At this year’s Future Con, researchers will describe a future of food in space that is anything but bland. Not the planet, we should change on realizing the disaster but I think its too late now. Now weâre talking about a new golden age of space exploration, in part because a whole fleet of Silicon Valley billionaires are fulfilling their childhood dreams, building spaceports on their own. We would also want humanity to be able to thrive for as long as possible, so it would make sense that we would try and expand to another planet when Earth is no longer feasible for us. Thatâs going to change the way we view Mars. Well it might not be as sci-fi as it sounds. It’s time to ask ourselves the big question: Should we try to colonize our solar system, or not? The Greenland shark, for example, lives to be over 400 years of age. But that''s not right to colonize on other planets. However, there are also the arguments against space colonization (according to Wikipedia): Until we get warp drive, weâre stuck with rockets that are below the speed of light and the planets we have discovered that are Earth-like would take hundreds of years to reach. We are explorers, we have been explorers for all of human history. Essentially, we would have to warm the planet to a value close to Earth's average surface temperature, and then we would have to produce sufficient levels of oxygen for us to be able to breathe. However, itâs a possibility that has to be looked at. Not all of us have to go, we just need to send enough peopleto sustain a healthy population when something catastrophic happens on earth. The same principle can apply to exoplanets as well, however we would need to develop the necessary technology in order to reach them, due to the distances from our Solar System. They claim that it would only take around 100 years to warm Mars. All the Reasons Why Humans Shouldn’t Colonize Mars, According to Experts. Realise human potential vs Minimise suffering of other life forms. Although "fiction" is becoming much closer to "reality" than we think. Other people believe that by colonizing other planets, we will only bring chaos to those worlds, much like we did here, on Earth. It was the most powerful rocket ever and taxpayers didnât pay one dime. The debate. However, there are also the arguments against space colonization (according to Wikipedia): The colonization of the cosmos may be likely to enhance the interests of the powerful (major economic and military institutions). The only basis on which humans should colonize another planet is if they can genuinely improve that planet by their presence. These companies, I think, are bogus. Lv 7. These would be the two main terraforming steps; however, it would be very difficult for us to be able to produce that much oxygen in a short amount of time unless there is some sort of technological breakthrough. 3, pp. Adam Morton examines extra-terrestrial colonization plans with a critical eye. I actually think it could be more beneficial for us than harmful. "The Solar System alone has, according to different estimates, enough material and energy to support anywhere from several thousand to over a billion times that of the current Earth-based human population" (Wikipedia). We Should Colonize Other Planets to Ensure Our Survival. As a child in Palo Alto, California, he built an atom smasher in the garage. He snuck on a pair of golf irons. So in just 20 years some of them may reach the nearest star, using off-the-shelf technology. Should Humans Colonize Other Planets? And the late astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has conjectured that if humanity fails to colonize space within 100 years, we could face extinction. This money could be used to feed the hungry, provide shelter for the homeless or even advance medicine. book. Artist rendering of a Mars terraforming plant [Credit: National Geographic]. The 2014 Christopher Nolan film Interstellar stumbles through the ethics of space colonization. I have to totally agree with one of the answers - That is doable, believe it or not. In one second, youâd be on the moon; in 20 minutes youâre on Mars; and in years youâre on the nearest star. To quote John McEnroe: You canât be serious, can you? Space colonization is not currently plausible, and Earth has far greater issues on its plate to prioritize. But whoâs going to do the heavy lifting? Should humans should seek to exploit and/or colonize other planets, and if so, how should it be done? Next stop, Mars. However, on Mars the gravity is only 30 percent of Earth, so one day we may have an Olympics on Mars where people could do four, five, six, seven rotations in the air, and ballet, or acrobatics, and gymnastics. 1 decade ago. His book Should We Colonize Other Planets? • The idea of colonizing another planet likely appeals to a small fraction of humankind and suggests an inevitably elitist enterprise. We expect to have this perhaps by the end of this century. Request Reprint & Licensing, Submit Correction or view Editorial Guidelines. A paper titled "The Terraforming Timeline" outlines a plan for how we can turn Mars into our new home. (New Human Frontiers)" by Adam Morton on my bus ride to and from work. Unfortunately, those resources do not come in an infinite supply on our planet. We also take issue with the term colonize. The colonies could self-replicate and establish new colonies in further out in space. The author’s position is no. Nor can we exclude the possibility of other sentient or intelligent life outside our orbit. We would not be harming any pre-existing wildlife or populations. There may be better plans. We have the Olympics, where we have athletes that understand the laws of gravity on Earth, but once weâre on the moon and Mars, we have a totally different set of physical constraints. No species that destroys planets should be allowed to inhabit them. No. Mr Morton writes in a way for almost anyone to be able to read it. Weâre going to have to be very careful sending our astronauts to Mars. Plus, Mother Nature has hurled at the Earth a number of extinction cycles. according to different estimates, enough material and energy to support anywhere from several thousand to over a billion times that of the current Earth-based human population" (Wikipedia). Is it possible? It's bad enough we've ruined plant Earth and continue to destroy the planet and our value system because of our greed and selfishness. He later became one of the founders of string theory. You inflate the parachute by shooting a laser beam at it from Earth, maybe 800 megawatts of energy, which would shoot these tiny parachutes up to 20 percent the speed of light. This process could then repeat itself at an exponential rate throughout the cosmos. This interview was edited for length and clarity. Lastly, we could completely ruin our planet through global warming. We can extend this by recognising that we should not discount the interests of future generations, who seem likely to travel at least to our nearer planets. This part of the terraforming process is considerably shorter and "easier" than the next phase, which consists of creating an oxygen-rich atmosphere for humans to be able to breathe in. Now we have the fourth wave of innovation: artificial intelligence, biotech, and nanotech. Space agencies and private companies alike plan to send humans to the Red Planet in … Off World All the Reasons Why Humans Shouldn’t Colonize Mars, According to Experts Not everyone agrees with Elon Musk. These colonies could remain dependent on Earth while they are getting started. ... With other planets to live on, our current “overpopulation” problems can be eased through migration to the “New World”. Some people believe we should not spend our money, time and resources on this enterprise, because there are problems on Earth we still haven’t fixed. I think settlements as in the Antarctic habitats for sure. It may not even happen in our lifetimes. But the first starship that goes to Proxima Centauri could be the size of a postage stampâa computer chock full of sensors and cameras, with a parachute on it. Of course, we're unsure if humanity will even be around at that point or if we'll have evolved into something completely different, but the possibility still exists. He makes a strong case for colonization just not by human beings. The 2014 Christopher Nolan film Interstellar stumbles through the ethics of space colonization. I will try to sort it out. In the novel The War of The Worlds, the Martians wanted to take over the Earth not because they were evil or because they didnât like Homo sapiens. We would be able to find the necessary materials in order to establish our space colonies, without having to look to Earth for resources (especially is we have used them up by that point). He stated that we face two options: long-term extinction or colonize space within the next couple hundred years. Many nations, including the U.S., have said that the brain is the key to understanding mental health, depression, and suicide. is available now. They wanted to plunder the gold of the Aztecs. © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, © 2015- They had to remove us so Martians could thrive on Earth and terraform it so it looked like Mars. Even Mars’s atmosphere is little denser than a typical laboratory vacuum here on Earth. Moving off of our planet to establish a new home somewhere else, that too, in a location where we may have to simulate some of the conditions found on Earth. Needless to say, human survival is a large factor in driving the interest for space colonies. Weâve been brainwashed by Hollywood to think that you have to have a gigantic starship, like The Enterprise, with heroic captains, like Captain Kirk. Absolutely! This trajectory could be maximized in about four steps: Create plenty of space colonies could be established in habitable locations- in outer space or on planetary bodies away from Earth. These are also solid arguments and lie more on the ethical side of the debate. Should humans should seek to exploit and/or colonize other planets, and if so, how should it be done? In the next section, we'll look at what might be needed to live there. These effects would include bone loss and muscle degradation. Media Have Every Right to Cancel Trump. In his new book, The Future Of Humanity, he argues passionately that our future lies not on Earth, but in the stars. In this episode of Today I Learned, astrobiologist and National Geographic Explorer Brendan Mullan lays out the blueprints for how we might terraform Mars. Theology and Science: Vol. Your own preferred solution is what you call laser porting. Humans need to colonize another planet within 100 years or face the threat of extinction, high-profile physicist Stephen Hawking has warned. I want humanity to be able to find out more about where we came from: the cosmos. The first wave, the Industrial Revolution, gave us the steam engine, the locomotive, and factories. The third revolution is high tech: computers, lasers, the Internet. We can genetically modify plants and algae to thrive in the Martian atmosphere. A few weeks ago, I read the "Should We Colonize Other Planets? So I think itâs inevitable that weâre going to bump into one of these advanced civilizations and it will change world history. A fundamental principle of the 1967 treaty is that no state may appropriate any part of space by occupation, claim of sovereignty, or any other means. The human race should attempt to colonize space because we will eventually run out of space and resources on earth. In November, Stephen Hawking warned that humans needed to colonize another planet within 1,000 years. Regardless of stance, there are some key reasons as to why space colonization may become a reality in the future. One of the beautiful images you conjure is of ballet dancing on Mars. They estimate that this process would take between 100,000 and 170,000 years. There's Only One Way For Humanity to Survive. For the nextstep of Mankind we should colonize other planets, we have learnt that we all carnt live together on one single peice of land, so why not spread out before we do annihilate ourselves and other species. On the other hand, we shouldnât use this as an excuse to pollute the Earth, or let global warming run amok. It takes nine months just to get to Mars, then you have to wait a few months for the planets to realign and then another nine months to come back. Effort is made not to pollute other planets with earthly bacteria, and the term “planetary protection” is now commonplace in space agency circles. This means we have to find the secret of extending the human lifespan or learn how to freeze ourselves. And the ultraviolet level… Space colonization is not currently plausible, and Earth has far greater issues on its plate to prioritize. Once again, Silicon Valley billionaires are opening up their checkbooks to the tune of $100 million to build the first starship to go to the nearest star, Proxima Centauri. Is it possible for us to leave our planet behind and start a new life elsewhere? Explain why this may one day be less fanciful than it seems. Even now, space debris is raising concerns. You could go to the moon on Monday and come back on Friday. We would be susceptible to solar radiation and lower gravity. Early settlers who came to the U.S. almost 400 years ago had game to shoot, plants to raise and topsoil on which to grow crops. But once we have it, what do we do with it? There was a theoretical study conducted by a small group of researchers in 2019 to determine the long-term trajectory of human civilization. Essentially, we would have to warm the planet to a value close to Earth's average surface temperature, and then we would have to produce sufficient levels of oxygen for us to be able to breathe. We all would like to see futuristic cities on Mars, but robots are going to become much more adapted to working in these harsh environments by the end of this century, so we expect to see robotic construction workers building the fantastic domed cities you see in science fiction novels. Colonies can develop and expand their habitation by themselves (possibly by terraforming). If Humans Want To Colonize Other Planets, We Need To Perfect Space Cuisine At this year’s Future Con, researchers will describe a future of food in space that is anything but bland. So genetics may make it possible to slow down the aging process. His book Should We Colonize Other Planets? By transporting our ecosystem to other worlds we’ll increase the changes of survivability for many other species among plants and animals. The author’s position is no. SpaceX is working on a vehicle that will take humans to Mars, a 100-metre ship codenamed the BFR (Big Fucking Rocket). And do you agree with Stephen Hawking, who warned of the dangers of contact? Alien worlds await. Human culture is closely associated with the demise of many large species of animals. Lv 7. As for my final thoughts on the subject, I am all for space colonization. Hopefully we will become explorers of the cosmos. With Asians who are now billions, we will need three other planets.” The adjustment of Mars to human environmental conditions will take about 120 years, argues Bushnell, but until then, we will need other planets to survive.. The paper was written by Aaron Berliner from the University of California, Berkeley, and Chris McKay from the Space Sciences Division at NASA Ames Research Center. Essentially, we would need to investigate the Martian surface in order to determine the amount of water on the surface, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (and in ice form in the poles), and the amount of nitrates in the Martian soil (phys.org). What if a giant asteroid strikes Earth? The first benefit is one of the main reasons why Elon Musk believes that we should colonize Mars: ... we would surely be able to find other suitable planets to reside. The availability of additional resources in space that could enable the expansion of human society.
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