The most important reason for space colonization is the continued existence of the human race in the face of a catastrophic event. The International Space Station has been continuously occupied by groups of six astronauts since Nov. 2000, for a total of 243 astronauts from 19 countries as of May 13, 2021. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard SPACE colonization means much more than Antarctic-style research habitats on the moon or other planets for an elite group of astronauts. The International Space Station alone has generated scores of medical innovations with uses on Earth, such as a method for delivering cancer-fighting medication directly to tumors; gadgetry that a nurse can hold to perform ultrasounds and transmit the results to a doctor thousands of miles away; and a robotic arm that can perform delicate surgery With globalization, increased carbon emissions, wars, travel, overpopulation, wealth disparity, and a rising climate that seems to make everyone's blood boil, it's no surprise that some people have considered leaving this planet behind. In space settlements, a relatively small, closed ecological system must recycle or import all the nutrients without "crashing.". ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. An alternative solution would be to bring hydrogen from Earth and combine it with oxygen extracted from lunar rock. [28] [29], Humans havent even attempted to live in Antarctica or under Earths seas, which have many fewer challenges for human bodies, so why would humans want to live on a planet or on the Moon thats likely to kill them fairly immediately? Then the planet must be made to produce oxygen so humans and other mammals can breathe, which will take about 100,000 years or more. The dust clung to the space suits of Apollo astronauts, scratching their visors and getting in their eyes and throats, which could result in bronchitis or cancer. It is disingenuous to say that the goal of space exploration is the colonization of Mars. Other people believe that by colonizing other planets, we will only bring . Several design groups at NASA and elsewhere have examined orbital colony feasibility. Inertia would necessitate powerful thrusters to start or stop rotation. There isn't anywhere like the Earth in the solar system, so we would have to go to another star. 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 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. The thin atmosphere also means that heat cannot be retained at the surface. To be sure there are many daunting challenges facing prospective space colonists such as protection from exposure to deadly radiation levels, the impact on the human body while living and working in cramped, low-gravity environments for extended periods of time and the psychological toll of isolation, confinement and separation from one's family Heppenheimer. In the 1950s and 1960s, Dandridge Cole and Krafft Ehricke published their ideas. For some it is the opportunity to gain new . The Expanse does a really good job with that. Can Alternative Energy Effectively Replace Fossil Fuels? And the radiation on the Moon is about 200 times higher than on Earth, in addition to other problems colonizing the Moon would cause humans. Explain your answer(s). 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. ", ProCon.org. Humans have a right and a moral duty to save our species from suffering and extinction. Many small asteroids in orbit around the Sun have the advantage that they pass closer than Earth's Moon several times per decade. Space colonization is the next logical step in space exploration and human growth. Inherent in exploration of all types is the opportunities that it opens up to the people doing the exploring. Humans have time to explore and colonize space at the same time as we mend the effects of climate change on Earth. Musk is the CEO of SpaceX, an aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company. Humans are soft and squishy and they die. Astronauts have demonstrated moving multi-ton satellites by hand. We need a major change in how we think about what it means to be humanwe need to stop seeing our species as special and start seeing it as part of a collection of species. These colonies would be positioned to construct massive solar power satellites to provide clean power to the Earth, as well as set up industries that on Earth create much environmental damage. All rights reserved. In another scenario proposed in 2002, anthropologist John H. Moore estimated that a population of 150180 would allow normal reproduction for 60 to 80 generationsequivalent to 2,000 years. Orbits close to Earth can be reached in hours, whereas the Moon is days away and trips to Mars take months. Opponents say technophobia fuels debates about the internet making us stupid. By colonizing space, humankind could . Circling back to the motives for space colonization, it is important to remember that we are only worried about space colonization in the near future because of . The long-term survival of the human race is at risk as long as it is confined to a single planet. And the majority (63%) stated NASAs top priority should be monitoring Earths climate, while only 18% said sending astronauts to Mars should be the highest priority and only 13% would prioritize sending astronauts to the Moon. Elon Musk's SpaceX plans to land two unmanned cargo ships on Mars in 2022. Astronauts spend an average of 182 days (about six months) aboard the ISS. Mars may have gone through similar geological and hydrological processes as Earth and may contain valuable mineral ores, but this is debated. Become a member. 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. 1. So here I will count down "Houston style," my top 5 reasons why space exploration is important for the world. However, nuclear submarines run "open loop" and typically dump carbon dioxide overboard, although they recycle oxygen. Astronauts spend an average of 182 days (about six months) aboard the ISS. People need air, water, food, gravity, and reasonable temperatures to survive for long periods. What was science fiction began to look more like possibility. Alternatively, Lunar space elevators might be employed. Equipment is available to extract in situ resources (water, air, and so forth) from the Martian ground and atmosphere. The five Earth-Sun Lagrange points would totally eliminate eclipses, but only L1 and L2 would be reachable in a few days' time. Mission AX-1 docked at the ISS on Apr. You want to send robots. Space is inhospitable to humans and life in space, if even possible, would be miserable. If man were to colonize a celestial body, the most important thing is to find one that is as similar to the earth as possible, because the purpose of space colonization is that man should be able to live on other celestial bodies, and our conditions for living on another celestial body are greater. The other three Earth-Sun points would require months to reach. Pro/Con Arguments | Discussion Questions | Take Action | Sources | More Debates, While humans have long thought of gods living in the sky, the idea of space travel or humans living in space dates to at least 1610 after the invention of the telescope when German astronomer Johannes Kepler wrote to Italian astronomer Galileo: Let us create vessels and sails adjusted to the heavenly ether, and there will be plenty of people unafraid of the empty wastes. To counter these arguments, advocates of space colonization observe that the pursuit of such a goal would stimulate the cooperative and unified efforts of people of various nationalities, and that the financial expense has been greatly overestimated. [38] [39], The International Space Station has been continuously occupied by groups of six astronauts since Nov. 2000, for a total of 243 astronauts from 19 countries as of May 13, 2021. Why Is Womens History Month Celebrated in March? The Space Frontier Foundation promotes strong free market, capitalist views about space development. We should colonize other habitable planets due to. Transportation using off-Earth resources for propellant in relatively conventional rockets would be expected to massively reduce in-space transportation costs compared to the present day. NASA astronauts going into space afterward rode along with Russians until 2020 when SpaceX took over and first launched NASA astronauts into space on Apr. The fully automated, unpiloted Blue Origin New Shepard rocket launched on the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and was named after Alan Shepard, who was the first American to travel into space on May 5, 1961. The Artemis Project designed a plan to colonize Europa, one of Jupiter's moons. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) Book of Mars: $22.99 at Magazines Direct. The literature for space colonization began in 1869, when Edward Everett Hale[9] wrote about an inhabited artificial satellite. However, the fact that Lagrange points L4 and L5 tend to collect dust and debris, while L1-L3 require active station-keeping measures to maintain a stable position, make them somewhat less suitable places for habitation than was originally believed. Another reason used to justify space colonization is the effort to increase human knowledge and technological abilities. This argument assumes that money not spent on space would automatically go toward socially beneficial projects. It's far from clear that human values will shape an Earth-based space-colonization wave, but even if they do, it seems more likely that space colonization will increase total suffering rather than decrease it. "As long as space colonization was merely the dream of science fiction fans . Others have also written about space colonies, such as Lasswitz in 1897, and Bernal, Oberth, Von Pirquet, and Noordung in the 1920s. This expansion is important because if something catastrophic were to happen to the . Another near-Earth possibility are the five Earth-Moon Lagrange points. 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. But science fiction also gives us a way to . ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. It has been proposed that these materials could be used for the construction of space habitats for human settlement. Space colonization would allow humans to spread among many planets and moons. If a workable solution were found and implemented, a project of that magnitude would cost billions, perhaps trillions. To protect life, settlements must be surrounded by sufficient mass to absorb most incoming radiation. 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. The main disadvantage of orbital colonies is lack of materials. Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver . One possibility is air-breathing hypersonic air/spacecraft under development by NASA and other organizations, both public and private. Below are the proper citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): the Modern Language Association Style Manual (MLA), the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), and Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian). Space colonization (also called space settlement, space humanization, or space habitation) is the concept of permanent, autonomous (self-sufficient) human habitation of locations outside Earth. Space Exploration Quotes. As of June 17, 2021, three countries had space programs with human space flight capabilities: China, Russia, and the United States. The most common ideas for space colonization include: settling Earths Moon, building on Mars, and constructing free-floating space stations. Over the next six decades, NASA would launch space stations, land rovers on Mars, and orbit Pluto and Jupiter, among other accomplishments. Earth is the home of all life in the. For lunar materials, one well-studied possibility is to build electronic catapults to launch bulk materials to waiting settlements. Humans living in space is pure science fiction. 23, 2021. Answers: 3 Show answers Another question on English. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. The They also note that, whatever the merits, human travel beyond the Solar System is not feasible in any reasonable time period. Should humans colonize space? Planetary colonization advocates cite the following potential locations: Mars is often the topic of discussion regarding "terraforming"the process of making the entire planet or at least large portions of it habitable. Now as to why depends on ones point of view. It is a major theme in science fiction, as well as a long-term goal of various national space programs. Its gravity is only around a third that of Earth; it is unknown whether this is sufficient to support human life for long periods. Push for the position and policies you support by writing US national senators and representatives. It is sheer hubris to even consider the question of whether we should go or not go as if we are deciding which movie to see this weekend because we really are not in a position to make that choice What objective person would hire humanity to colonize a virgin planet, given its abysmal past performance in caring for the Earths ecosystem (overpopulation, climate change, mass extinctions)? [23]. The Russian schoolmaster and physicist Konstantin Tsiolkowsky foresaw elements of the space community in his book, Beyond Planet Earth, written about 1900. Explain why or why not, using evidence from the passage. The argument of need: The population of Earth continues to increase, while its carrying capacity and available resources do not. Opponents say AI poses dangerous privacy risks. Water ice deposits that may exist in some polar craters could serve as a source for these elements. Analyze Christopher Schabergs position that Were Already Colonizing Mars.. Diseases will go havoc, pollution will destroy the environment, and world war 3 can become a nuclear war and numerous . NASA astronauts going into space afterward rode along with Russians until 2020 when SpaceX took over and first launched NASA astronauts into space on Apr. 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. The Living Universe Foundation has a detailed plan in which the entire galaxy is colonized. Between now and 2040, the companys lifespan will have tripled. If humans were to colonize space, how could life on Earth change? Why Werner Herzog Thinks Human Space Colonization 'Will Inevitably Fail' (arstechnica.com) 179. As I mentioned in the introduction, Musk and SpaceX hope to create the first city-like colony on Mars by . And those two steps can only be taken once Mars is thoroughly investigated for water, carbon dioxide, and nitrates. https://www.britannica.com/story/pro-and-con-space-colonization. Certain NEOs may also contain some nitrogen. Space Colonization is its goal. This article was published on January 21, 2022, at Britannicas ProCon.org, a nonpartisan issue-information source. To learn what can happen above low-Earth orbit, NASA studies how radiation affects biological samples using a ground-based research laboratory. Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, stated, I think there is a strong humanitarian argument for making life multi-planetary, in order to safeguard the existence of humanity in the event that something catastrophic were to happen, in which case being poor or having a disease would be irrelevant, because humanity would be extinct. See full answer below. 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. [26], Brian Patrick Green stated, Furthermore, we have to realize that solving Earths environmental problems is extremely difficult and so will take a very long time. In 2014 Elon Musk stated, Its obvious that space is deeply ingrained in the American psyche SpaceX is only 12 years old now. a famous hoax from history . While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. And even the worst catastrophes are unlikely to leave this world as hostile to humanity as a planet with no life, no atmosphere,. Harvard Univ., $29.95 By 20th century expectations, we are way behind schedule on colonizing the solar system. Colonization of the entire Solar System would take hundreds or thousands of years. To spread ourselves without thought or care would probably result in failure: more planets spiraling toward global warming or space settlements filled with social unrest. [23], Fred Kennedy, PhD, President of Momentus, a space transportation company, explained, Ill assert that a fundamental truth repeatedly borne out by history is that expanding, outwardly-focused civilizations are far less likely to turn on themselves, and far more likely to expend their fecundity on growing habitations, conducting important research and creating wealth for their citizens. 1996. 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. [6], In 2001, the space news website Space.com asked Freeman Dyson, J. Richard Gott, and Sid Goldstein for reasons why some humans should live in space. If the resources of space are opened to use and viable life-supporting habitats can be built, the Earth will no longer define the limits of growth. The asteroid belt has significant overall material available, although it is thinly distributed, as it covers a vast region of space. Low delta-v (change in velocity by the thrust of rocket engines) is needed to reach the Earth from Phobos and Deimos, allowing delivery of material to cislunar space, as well as transport around the Martian system. It may be possible to colonize the three farthest gas giants with "floating cities" in their atmospheres. Heres Everything You Need to Know,", Associated Press, "The 1st Private Astronaut Mission to International Space Station Is Back on Earth,", Jasmine Wright, "Harris Congratulates NASA Astronaut Who Spent Record 355 Days in Space,". [12], Paul Eckart wrote Lunar Base Handbook in 1999;[13] M. Dyson wrote Home on the Moon; Living on a Space Frontier in 2003;[14] and Harrison Schmitt published Return to the Moon, written in 2007.[15]. [20]. Colonizing other bodies in the solar system (or building our own orbiting habitats) is a way to create a "backup" of humanity that will survive no matter what happens to Earth. As a species, we are approaching an important turning point in our history, and if we make the wrong decisions we might be facing a future of deprivation, over population, hunger, and. Make money from solar power satellites, asteroid mining, and. A space colony can be the answer to philosophical challenges and economic expectations facing us here on Earth. Many NEOs contain substantial amounts of metals, oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon. A major drawback of the Moon is its low abundance of volatiles necessary for life, such as hydrogen and oxygen. Famed British cosmologist Stephen Hawking sees only one way for humanity to survive the next millennium: colonize space. 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. 2. Weightlessness makes construction of large colonies considerably easier than in a gravity environment. Over the next six decades, NASA would launch space stations, land rovers on Mars, fly past Pluto, and orbit Jupiter, among other accomplishments. Even colonization advocates would be happy with colonization of the Moon, the asteroids, and many other destinations. 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 50 But before humans venture to distant worlds, they'll most likely be starting with a colony on the moon. The speculation is that hot, hydrogen-containing balloons would be used to suspend large masses at roughly Earth gravity. But instead, there are thousands of snark-drenched tweets sneering at how crackpot, masculinist, and even childish Elon's dream is. Locations in space would necessitate a space habitat, also called space colony and orbital colony, or a space station that would be intended as a permanent settlement rather than as a simple way-station or other specialized facility. We're in the infancy of it I'm talking about that one day, I don't know when that day is, but there will be more human beings who live off the Earth than on it. The idea of terraforming Mars - aka "Earth's Twin" - is a fascinating idea. The moons themselves may be inhabited, with methods similar to those for asteroids. The dreamers, thinkers and explorers who decide to go to Mars will, by necessity, fuel unprecedented lateral innovations [that will solve problems on Earth]. [27], Briony Horgan, PhD, Assistant Professor of Planetary Science at Purdue University, explained that terraforming Mars is way beyond any kind of technology were going to have any time soon. [28], In one widely promoted plan, Mars needs to first be warmed to closer to Earths average temperature (from -60 C/-76 F to 15 C/59 F), which will take approximately 100 years. [16] [17], On Apr. Print. SEE plans to host film and sports events, as well as content creation by Dec. 2024. [35], Humans would have a host of illnesses to deal with due to climate differences on Mars or the Moon: cancer, radiation illnesses, reproductive problems (or sterility), muscle degeneration, bone loss, skin burns, cardiovascular disease, depression, boredom, an inability to concentrate, high blood pressure, immune disorders, metabolic disorders, visual disorders, balance and sensorimotor problems, structural changes in the brain, nausea, dizziness, weakness, cognitive decline, and altered gene function, among others. Colonization of Titan. [5] [6] [7] [8] [36], As of June 17, 2021, three countries had space programs with human space flight capabilities: China, Russia, and the United States. If it weren't for colonizin space, the human race would not survive. Author and journalist William E. Burrows and biochemist Robert Shapiro proposed a private project, the Alliance to Rescue Civilization, with the goal of establishing an off-Earth backup of human civilization. Explore and monitor how Space is affecting economies, industries and global issues. For both solar thermal and nuclear power generation in airless environments, such as the Moon and space, and to a lesser extent the very thin Martian atmosphere, one of the main difficulties is dispersing the inevitable heat generated. 5. 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. Distinct cultural important (hard to define) is probably good reason. Project Orion: A concept proposed by Freeman Dyson that could use nuclear bombs to propel a starship. If the goal of space colonization is to create another civilization that is viable independently of the continued success of Earth-based civilization, there will be enormous challenges putting in place the large infrastructure necessary for an industrial civilization.

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