The fact that we have destroyed our home planet is prima facie evidence of this assertion. One possibility is air-breathing hypersonic air/spacecraft under development by NASA and other organizations, both public and private. Consider the language used to talk about humans living in space with Bill Nye. Dreams of space settlement hit a zenith in the 1950s with Walt Disney productions such as Man and the Moon, and science fiction novels including Ray Bradburys The Martian Chronicles (1950). According to Cassini data from 2008, Titan has hundreds of times more liquid hydrocarbons than all the known oil and natural gas reserves on . John Traphagan, PhD, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, argued, Colonization has the odor of running away from the problems weve created here; if we do that, we will simply bring those problems with us. [T]he first argument against human travel . Compared to the other requirements, communication systems are relatively easy to set up for Earth orbits and settlements on the Moon. [2] [3] [4], Fueling popular imagination at the time was the American space race with Russia, amid which NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) was formed in the United States on July 29, 1958, when President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act into law. Following from that premise, Brian Patrick Green, Director of Technology Ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, concluded, Because space settlement gives humankind the opportunity to significantly raise the chances of survival for our species, it is therefore a moral imperative to settle space as quickly as possible. [21], Some theorists, including Gonzalo Munevar, PhD, interdisciplinary Professor Emeritus at Lawrence Technological University, believe colonizing space will increase clean energy on Earth, provide access to the solar systems resources, and increase knowledge of space and Earth. Why or why not? 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. Cosmic rays and solar flares create a lethal radiation environment in space. e What is the value of space exploration? As of Feb. 2020, Russian Valery Polyakov had spent the longest continuous time in space (437.7 days in 1994-1995 on space station Mir), followed by Russian Sergei Avdeyev (379.6 days in 1998-1999 on Mir), Russians Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov (365 days in 1987-1988 on Mir), American Mark Vande Hei (355 days on ISS) Russian Mikhail Kornienko and American Scott Kelly (340.4 days in 2015-2016 on Mir and ISS respectively), and American Christina Koch (328 days in 2019-20 in ISS). All rights reserved. The Artemis Project designed a plan to colonize Europa, one of Jupiter's moons. (For articles about the Movement, see The Space Movement ). The moons themselves may be inhabited, with methods similar to those for asteroids. Mankind has been dealing with challenges since the first days of its existence. 2019, Fred Kennedy, To Colonize Space or Not to Colonize: That Is the Question (For All of Us), forbes.com, Dec. 18, 2019, Matthias Dpfner, Jeff Bezos Reveals What It's Like to Build an Empire and Why He's Willing to Spend $1 Billion a Year to Fund the Most Important Mission of His Life, businessinsider.com, Apr. Colonization of asteroids would require space habitats. 1. ", The Planetary Society is the largest space interest group, but has an emphasis on robotic exploration and the. The literature for space colonization began in 1869, when Edward Everett Hale[9] wrote about an inhabited artificial satellite. Also, seeing the Earth as a single, discrete object instills a powerful sense of the unity and connectedness of the human environment and of the immateriality of political borders. Unmanned supply craft may be practical with little technological advance, even crossing 1/2 billion kilometers of cold vacuum. But once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe. Why colonize space Alternatively, and more attractive to many, the Biosphere 2 project in Arizona has shown that a complex, small, enclosed, man-made biosphere can support eight people for at least a year, although there were many problems. 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. Push for the position and policies you support by writing US national senators and representatives. [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. ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. If humans were to colonize space, how could life on Earth change? The module will be named SEE-1 and will dock on Axiom Station, which is the commercial wing of the International Space Station. This would also help preserve the rest of terrestrial life presumably something the critics would approve of. [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. Colonization, or the desire to establish permanent settlements, soon followed. In a lecture Tuesday in Los Angles, the 71-year . We may well have people living on the moon. And those two steps can only be taken once Mars is thoroughly investigated for water, carbon dioxide, and nitrates. Astronauts spend an average of 182 days (about six months) aboard the ISS. The Moon's low surface gravity (about one-sixth g) is also a concern. Four more will follow in 2024 two of those manned. Con Humans living in space is pure science fiction. Get the weekly Five Books newsletter. 3. It is a major theme in science fiction, as well as a long-term goal of various national space programs. Billionaire Elon Musk explained that the SpaceX Mars colonization project would need one million people to pay $200,000 each just to move to and colonize Mars, which doesnt include the costs incurred before humans left Earth. The greatest obstacle for the Space Movement has been credibility. Space colonization has captured the public imagination. Wrtie a essay based on your outline from lesson 2. your essay will be about the same topic. 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. But deGrasse Tyson, who also hosts the show " StarTalk " on the National Geographic Channel, argues that space colonization could have a tremendous impact on civilization, potentially. Transportation of large quantities of materials from the Moon, Phobos, Deimos, and Near Earth asteroids to orbital settlement construction sites would probably be necessary. These solutions are the cornerstones that have helped people expand their horizons. After the Russians put the first person, Yuri Gagarin, in space on Apr. However, a great deal of engineering would be required. Colonization of the entire Solar System would take hundreds or thousands of years. 28, 2018, Robert Matthews, When Will Earth Become Uninhabitable?, sciencefocus.com (accessed July 27, 2021), Joe Mascaro, To Save Earth, Go to Mars, aeon.com, May 11, 2016, George Dvorsky, Humans Will Never Colonize Mars, gizmodo.com, July 30, 2019, Matt Williams, The Future of Space Colonization -- Terraforming or Space Habitats?, phys.org, Mar. [14] [15], Jeff Bezos followed on July 20, 2021, accompanied by his brother, Mark, and both the oldest and youngest people to go to space: 82-year-old Wally Funk, a female pilot who tested with NASA in the 1960s but never flew, and Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old student from the Netherlands. [18] [19] [40], In Jan. 2022, Space Entertainment Enterprise (SEE) announced plans for a film production studio and a sports arena in space. It acknowledges the harm that Canada's colonial history has had on Indigenous nations, peoples, and culture. [24], Humans are not a species of stagnation. They have determined that there are ample quantities of the necessary materials on the Moon and Near Earth Asteroids, that solar energy is readily available in large quantities, and that no new scientific breakthroughs are necessary. An alternative solution would be to bring hydrogen from Earth and combine it with oxygen extracted from lunar rock. Humans have a right and a moral duty to save our species from suffering and extinction. By colonizing space, humankind could . [20]. To access extended pro and con arguments, sources, and discussion questions about whether humans should colonize space, go to ProCon.org. Somewhere around 5-10 tons of material per square meter of surface area is required. 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. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. By comparison, NASA's yearly budget averages only about $15 billion a year. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) Book of Mars: $22.99 at Magazines Direct. 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 They also note that, whatever the merits, human travel beyond the Solar System is not feasible in any reasonable time period. Compared to other locations, Earth orbit has substantial advantages and one major, but solvable, problem. Other means of communication that do not require live interaction, such as e-mail and voice mail systems, would pose no problem. According to this view, there is nothing in space that is really needed, adding that moving beyond the solar system is totally impractical in any "reasonable" time scale. There are some who object to the idea of colonizing space as being "too expensive and a waste of time." In my view, as long as we bring the [idea] of human exceptionalism with us to other worlds, we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes we have made here. [23], As novelist Andy Weir explained, The problem is that you still dont want to send humans to the moon. RSS. 23, 2021. 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. Colonies on the Moon and Mars could use local materials, although the Moon is deficient in volatiles (principally hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen) but possesses a great deal of oxygen, silicon, and metals such as iron, aluminum, and titanium. 3 reasons Mars colonization might be a bad idea. Wind energy is an important plank in Norway's green energy transition. This part of the atmosphere is probably within dense clouds that contain some sulfuric acid. But before humans venture to distant worlds, they'll most likely be starting with a colony on the moon. Over the next six decades, NASA would launch space stations, land rovers on Mars, and orbit Pluto and Jupiter, among other accomplishments. Mars is a desolate wasteland with very little atmosphere, less gravity and no radiation protection. The Expanse does a really good job with that. The relationship between organisms, their habitat and the non-Earth environment can be: A combination of the above technologies is also possible. This would test if thousands of humans can survive a century on their own before sending them beyond the reach of any help. What was science fiction began to look more like possibility.