Next stop, Mars. 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. There is an endless amount of potential for the growth of human civilization if we use extraterrestrial resources. Simon Worrall curates Book Talk. He predicted that humanity would go extinct in the next few thousand years unless space colonies were established. Chelsea Gohd March 2nd 2017. book. We have discovered 4,000 planets so far in the galaxy, and we now know that on average every star in the galaxy has a planet of some kind. Asteroid mining is something that has been discussed, and if space colonization becomes a reality, it will certainly be of use to us. When Humans Begin Colonizing Other Planets, Who Should Be in ... questions concerning how humans might threaten life on other planets we colonize. Even now, space debris is raising concerns. “The whole ecosystem is crashing. The primary argument calling for space colonization is the long-term survival of human civilization. The answer may lie within the realm of science fiction. But who’s going to do the heavy lifting? The end of our planet is near and we are responsible for it. Humans should not colonize space because we haven't been able to find solutions to the problems we experience right here on Earth. We should cure these problems without having to leave for Mars or another planet, because it’s impossible to remove the entire population of Earth to Mars. 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). And the late astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has conjectured that if humanity fails to colonize space within 100 years, we could face extinction. Resources in space: There is no shortage of resources in space, whether it be materials or just energy. Another question which arises from the topic of space colonization is just how we could perform such a task. 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. 321-332. Olivia Solon. Essentially, we are too many out there. 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). These companies, I think, are bogus. humans are destined to conquer the planets and the s tars, to populate the universe, to evolve to a higher form in space. You just laser port yourself! They had to remove us so Martians could thrive on Earth and terraform it so it looked like Mars. Yes we need new technology to explore another planet and know if its habitable or not for humans being,we can also use the same new technology to repare what we have destroy on planet earth too. 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. And, hopefully, there’ll be a mentor to show us the way to the future without having to go to war and resort to savagery and barbarism. (Polity, 2018) We are near to being able to attempt to colonize other planets in the solar system, especially Mars. But the first starship that goes to Proxima Centauri could be the size of a postage stamp—a computer chock full of sensors and cameras, with a parachute on it. When things change, either you adapt or die. We have the Olympics, where we have athletes that understand the laws of gravity on Earth, but once we’re on the moon and Mars, we have a totally different set of physical constraints. Valeriy Yakovlev, an astrophysicist and hydrogeologist from The Laboratory of Water Quality in Kharkov, Ukraine offers a counterargument. That’s why, after we went to the moon, we lost interest. It also also unclear what effects space would have on children that are born in it. The second was the Human Genome Project, which gave us the human genome. 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. He makes a strong case for colonization just not by human beings. Should humans should seek to exploit and/or colonize other planets, and if so, how should it be done? All rights reserved. The 2014 Christopher Nolan film Interstellar stumbles through the ethics of space colonization. Space colonization is not currently plausible, and Earth has far greater issues on its plate to prioritize. The author’s position is no. ... and the potential for terraforming the planet. The second wave was electricity and magnetism, whereby we had TV, internal combustion cars, a beginning of the space program. In his paper he states: "If the path of space exploration is to create a colony on Mars and furthermore the subsequent attempts to terraform the planet, it will lead to the unjustified loss of time and money and increase the known risks of human civilization." Additionally, he points out the challenges of creating a suitable environment for humans living in space (vehicles, housing, etc.). However, there are also the arguments against space colonization (according to Wikipedia): Essentially, we are too many out there. It was the most powerful rocket ever and taxpayers didn’t pay one dime. Until we get warp drive, we’re 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. He stated that we face two options: long-term extinction or colonize space within the next couple hundred years. Is it possible that ancient humans colonized other planets? He also believes that these habitats can be creates in a reasonable time frame of 10 to 30 years. • The idea of colonizing another planet likely appeals to a small fraction of humankind and suggests an inevitably elitist enterprise. This interview was edited for length and clarity. Your own preferred solution is what you call laser porting. Plus, Mother Nature has hurled at the Earth a number of extinction cycles. Nature has hurled at the Earth a number of extinction, high-profile physicist Stephen has. The ethics of space colonization may become a reality in the Antarctic habitats for sure matter months! 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